'Managers of Ghana's economy are like the managers of Manchester United' - IEA director jabs

On Monday, May 6, 2024, Crystal Palace scored four goals against its opponent, Manchester United, ending the game at 4-0. While many are disappointed in the latter's performance, others are calling for the dismissal of the coach, Ten Hag.

Lamenting the poor performance, the Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), John Kwakye, has drawn a striking comparison between the management of Ghana's economy and the beleaguered football club, Manchester United.

According to him, the managers of both the local economy and Manchester United seem clueless in addressing the problems confronting them.

In a post on X sighted by GhanaWeb Business, the IEA boss stated, "It seems to me that the managers of Ghana's economy are like the managers of Manchester United. Both seem clueless in addressing the problems confronting them, although the solutions are far from rocket science."

His comment comes at a time when the country is facing significant economic headwinds, with multinational companies exiting the country over high taxes, power crisis, the local currency - Cedi - depreciating against major currencies, increases in fuel prices and transport fares, high cost of living, among other issues.

To help stabilise the economy, government, as part of measures to tame high inflation announced on July 1, 2022, its decision to seek a $3 billion financial bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Subsequently, a team from the IMF arrived in the country from July 6 to July 13, 2022, to engage with Ghanaian authorities for a possible economic support program.

A staff-level agreement between the Government of Ghana and the IMF was reached in December 2022.

On May 17, 2023, the IMF's executive board approved Ghana's $3 billion loan facility.

The first tranche of $600 million was received by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) on Friday, May 19, 2023.

The IMF program, according to the government, is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and safeguarding debt sustainability, among many other objectives.

Read John Kwakye's tweet below;

It seems to me that the managers of Ghana's economy are like the managers of Manchester United. Both seem clueless in addressing the problems confronting them, although the solutions are far from rocket science.

— J. K. Kwakye (@JohnKwabenaKwa1) May 5, 2024