General News of Friday, 24 January 2020

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Ghana is one of the most stable countries on the continent – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

President Akufo-Addo has said the democratic institutions of Ghana have proven to be the most unifying institutions of the state which has resulted in the country being one of the most stable on the continent.

According to him, the attribution is given to the constitution which has proven to be a unifying factor in the development of the country.

“The willingness of the both the political class and the people of Ghana to accept the basic tenets of democratic accountability has also meant that it has contributed to the stability of our country and that is why today Ghana is seen as one of the most stable and peaceful countries on the continent and a great deal off it is due to the acceptance and awareness of the Ghanaian people that democracy could be a positive form of governance.”

President Akufo-Addo speaking during a press conference on January 23 at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland reiterated his administration’s effort in building a strong market economy.

“Over the period of the fourth republic, most of the economic indices of human development have significantly improved when you compare them over the period of military and non-democratic rule but within that too, we have had some highs and lows,” he said.

“I came into office at the time when the Ghanaian economy was in considerable disarray even though we were under an IMF program, many of the fundamental indices of economic well-being were not present and those were the circumstances that brought me into office,” he added.

Akufo-Addo admonished that the three years of his mandate has been well spent in trying to restore stability in the management of the Ghanaian economy.

“We have cut down on the deficit we inherited was at 9.3 percent and today its 4.5 percent, We have brought down inflation to 7.9 percent from a previous 15.4 percent when we came into office, today we have for the first time a positive trade balance and general economic growth has gone from 3.6 percent to an average of 7 percent over these last three years.”

Earlier on Tuesday, President Akufo-Addo rang the opening bell to kick off a new partnership between the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) after the launch of the UK – Africa Summit 2020 in London.

The move, however, is expected to help develop some of the capital market’s infrastructure that can sustain and expand the financial market as well as transfer to emerging market status.

The President is his speech said Ghana was prepared to partner the London Stock Exchange in revenue and resource mobilization for investments on the African continent.