By Bright Ntramah
President Akufo-Addo has lashed out at International credit rating agencies for engaging in reckless downgrade shutting Ghana out of the capital market turning a liquidity crisis into a solvency crisis.
He noted that only strong financial African institutions can develop the Continent, as solely relying on foreign financial institutions is not the best. The President, therefore, wants financial institutions strengthened and supported to lead in the development of the Continent.
President Akufo-Addo was speaking at the 30th Afreximbank Annual Meeting in Accra.
The 30th Anniversary celebrations brought together on one platform thousands of people, including African and Caribbean leaders and senior government officials, African, Caribbean, and other policymakers, corporate leaders, bankers, academia and other thought leaders.
The meetings will include the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders and an extensive seminar programme, featuring plenaries and side events. African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade.
For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa.
A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA.
Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a 10 billion dollars. Adjustment Fund to support countries to effectively participate in the AfCFTA.
President Akufo-Addo was grateful to the Africa Export and Import Bank for supporting the Continent during the crisis.
He called on the AU to admit the AFREXIM Bank as one of the Institutions of the Union, because Africa needs to develop a stronger support system to combat the crisis.
”…..Africa must develop its own Bank to support the Continent in crisis”, the President reiterated.
