Covid-19, Russia-Ukraine war exposed Ghana’s fiscal recklessness – Economist

Dr. Theophilus Acheampong, an economist, says the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, have exposed fiscal recklessness in the country.

 The economist, in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show, said the nation, particularly in the past 10 years, was on a path that “was clearly unsustainable.”

“Our expenditure patterns kept increasing, and our gap and deficit had to be financed from external sources.”

“The point is that we have been living recklessly, over the last 10 years, our fiscal finances have been pretty much in shambles. If we recall, during the Covid-19 pandemic, we were told that those who died the most were those with underlying health conditions. In our case, what the pandemic and Ukraine war have done is to expose our fiscal diabetes.”

“We had an underlying ailment in terms of our borrowing and living unsustainably, and these two have exposed them, resulting in where we find ourselves,” he explained.