By Rebecca Ekpe
President Akufo Addo has re-assured Ghanaians that just like in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a unity of purpose, commitment and focus, Ghana will overcome its current economic difficulties and experience a robust economy that will reflect positively in the living standards of all.
‘’Fellow Ghanaians, we got ourselves out of a pandemic in which there were no precedents on which to rely, and where even the experts admitted they had no clear-cut solutions. We did it by being resolute, being focused and working very hard, and by accepting that we had to stick together’’, he stated.
‘’With a similar frame of mind and attitude, we shall overcome the economic difficulties as well, sooner rather than later. I have no doubts at all in my mind that we are on the right path, and we would soon start to see significant improvements in the economy and in the living standards of Ghanaians’’.
This was contained in President Akufo Addo’s 29th Update on Ghana’s Enhanced Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
He recalled the difficulties that Ghana, just like other countries, suffered with the onslaught of the Covid-19 scourge.
‘’Three years ago, we started with drastic measures and restrictions; the international airport was shut for months and our land borders were closed to human traffic for almost three years’’.
The hospitality industries as well as educational institutions were hard hit, President Akufo Addo recalled.
‘’The hospitality industry was devastated, hotels and restaurants and other social gathering places were shut down, schools and universities and training institutions were shut down’’.
Our very essence as a people, greetings, handshakes, hugs, etc. had to be abandoned.
‘’Indeed, our world was turned upside down’’, the President pointed out.
‘’That culturally defining Ghanaian symbol, the handshake, was prohibited and frowned upon and we were advised not to hug our children and our loved ones’’.
‘’Churches, mosques and other places of worship were closed for months, and our beaches remained emptied of human activity. Fellow Ghanaians, even our funerals, that sacred Ghanaian ritual, were stopped and then attempts were made to change the tone and character of the funeral with the imposition of restrictions on how many can attend or be fed at the ceremony’’.
Today, the story is one of relief as Ghana has returned to pre Covid mode, President Akufo Addo announced.
This follows the World Health Organization (WHO) announcing on May 5, 2023 that, COVID was no longer a public health emergency of global concern.
President Akufo Addo expressed gratitude to all stakeholders for supporting the State to manage the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘’There is no question that Ghana came out of this global catastrophe much better than many other countries, if we consider the rate of infection, hospitalization and deaths. We must recognize that this happened because we worked at it in a focused and competent manner’’.
This optimism is what the President seeks of Ghanaians to return the economy back on track, as Ghana has received the first $600 Million of its $3Billion IMF bailout.
The President was however quick to caution that the arrival of the first IMF tranche does not signify an immediate or ultimate relief.
‘’Fellow Ghanaians, access to the IMF facility will not spell the immediate end of the difficulties we are in presently, but the fact that we have been able to negotiate such a deal sends a positive message to our trading partners, creditors and investors; a positive message that will be underpinned by the discipline, hard work and enterprise with which we execute the programme’’, President Akufo Addo posited.
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