The Economic Policy Adviser to the Office of the Vice President, Dr. Sharif Mahmud Khalid, has taken a swipe at the previous NPP government, accusing it of reckless borrowing and economic mismanagement, which led to what he describes as “an overheated economy” inherited by the new administration.
In a passionate defense of the current government’s economic strategy, Dr. Khalid stressed the need to “go basic” in explaining why the cedi has seen some level of stability in recent months. According to him, the so-called turnaround many are debating did not happen overnight but was the result of decisive commitment to painful reforms that the previous government avoided.
“Let me go basic,” Dr. Khalid said on Metro TV’s Goof Morning Ghana monitored by MyNewsGh. “If we had come in and not fully committed to a domestic debt exchange program, not fully committed to an IMF program, not fully committed to fiscal discipline, internal controls… what kind of an economy would we be running right now?”
He argued that the opposition, which oversaw the controversial borrowing spree during its tenure, now wants to distance itself from the consequences of its actions.
“At the time we took office, it was an overheated economy where all the figures were negative. You had a central bank posting losses, a domestic debt exchange program underway, and even blue-chip investments like pensions were touched,” he said. “That’s how low we sank.”
Dr. Khalid said it is the current administration’s “real commitment to fixing the mess” that has resulted in the relative macroeconomic stability being observed.
He credited the improvement to steps like reviving the Sinking Fund, reducing the size of government, and following through with IMF conditions—actions he said reflect discipline, not luck.
“We reactivated the Sinking Fund which had just over $60,000 in it when we took over. Where we could pay kind, we did. Where we could pay cash, we did. That’s what prudent economic management looks like,” he stated.
