Economic Woes Due To Poor Policy Choices, Not External Factors – Ato Forson Tells IMF

MyAfricaNewsArena Thursday, September 08, 2022

Cassiel Ato Forson, former Deputy Minister of Finance

A ranking member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson, has debunked assertions that Ghana’s economic challenges have been due to external factors like COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Ato Forson, in a Twitter post sighted by GhanaWeb on September 7, 2022, said that he told the IMF team that Ghana’s woes have been fueled by poor policy choices and mismanagement.

He also stated his disagreements with the earlier comments made by IMF’s MD on September 5, 2022.

“Earlier today, I pointed out to the new IMF chief for #Gh that our current economic woes are mostly due to poor policy choices & mismanagement not covid or Rus-Ukr war! I also stated my surprise at the recent comment by the IMF Boss on this mindful of the facts available!” his post read.

Kristalina Georgieva had said on September 5, 2022, after a meeting with Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that Ghana’s economic hardships have been largely caused by exogenous factors.

“Like everybody on this planet, Ghana has been hurt by exogenous shocks, first the pandemic, then Russia’s war in Ukraine, and we need to realize that Ghana’s challenge is not because of bad policies, but the combination of external shocks,” the IMF boss noted.

IMF’s new mission Chief to Ghana, Stephane Roudet, arrived in Ghana on September 6, 2022, to meet with Ghana’s finance minister and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana.