Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has assured Ghanaians that jobs will not be affected in the government’s ongoing economic restructuring agenda.
Speaking at a press briefing on Sunday, June 18, 2023, Ofori-Atta was positive that despite the conditionalities to be met as a result of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), programme, jobs will be prioritised.
“Government is very intentional in ensuring that growth and job creation are not sacrifice in the process of restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability,” he told journalists.
“To promote entrepreneurship through initiatives such as the Youstart Programme to create more jobs for the banking sector and faith-based organizations, fast-tracking the implementation of key growth-oriented programs under the Ghana Cares Obaatanpa program. These programs include economic anklet projects, to enable self-sufficiency in rice, maize, vegetables and poultry, and support in large-scale agriculture and agribusiness interventions through the Development Bank of Ghana,” he added.
He said the nation will transition to a digital economy to boost productivity, tax collection and formality while expanding digital government services.
The Minister further called on the media to be circumspect in their reportage on the economy and other national issues in order not to derail the progress made so far.
The minister also said Ghana is set to complete its debt restructuring in the coming weeks.
Ofori-Atta said the country is in the process of getting a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its bilateral creditors.
The minister said the agreement is expected before the next review of its US$3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
“We’ve successfully worked with the Paris Club and other creditors to determine the parameters for official debt restructuring under the G20 common framework for debt treatment.”
“In the coming weeks, we will seek to complete the MoU on terms with bilateral debt treatment,” he added.
Ofori-Atta said Ghana will continue discussions with private creditors, Eurobond investors on external debt to reach an agreement with private creditors in the shortest possible time. We expect to finalise these negotiations before the next review, which is in September,” he said.