Economic crisis: Prof Adei slams Akufo-Addo for excessive borrowing

Former board chair of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Professor Stephen Adei has taken a dig at the Akufo-Addo government for its excessive borrowing which he says is the cause of the country’s economic crisis.

According to the renowned economist, although the emergence of COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war may have affected Ghana’s economy, the fundamental mistake government made was to have borrowed beyond its capacity.

He is thus calling on the government to accept responsibility and work to change the fortunes of the country.

Professor Adei said this when he addressed journalists on the sidelines of the Signature Market Pre-launch campaign at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

“I think the biggest mistake they made is that they borrowed beyond our capacity to service it. If you are a country and you borrow beyond your capacity, you will be in trouble, of course, COVID-19 came in, and the Russia-Ukraine [war].

“But the reason why things got worse is because of these underlying mistakes they made and they must admit it. If not they won’t be going to IMF, if you are a government and you go broke you re-negotiate with your debtors. I think the debt restructuring will go through”.

Professor Adei also wants Ghanaians to strictly hold government officials accountable to prevent a similar situation in future.

“We have to learn and not repeat our mistakes by going on a borrowing spree, we should become watchdogs. The leakages should be reduced, the level of corruption, the wastage from the government after government is high so we don’t get value for money,” he stated.

He also encouraged students to venture into entrepreneurship while in school to reduce graduate unemployment.

“Try to set up your own enterprises by starting small, the earlier you start entrepreneurship, the better for you. Try to take the risks of starting small,” he added.