President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday said the government has been able to stabilize the economy, exit the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, and restore confidence in the economy.

He explained that at the end of 2019, the economy was characterised by strong growth in response to the implementation of government flagship programmes, single-digit inflation, reduced fiscal deficits with three consecutive years of primary surpluses and relatively stable exchange rate.

There was also significant improvement in the current account with three consecutive years of trade surpluses, strong foreign exchange reserve buffers, and markedly reduced lending rates.

In a Message on the State of the Nation delivered to Parliament before dissolution on the night of January 6, 2020, the President said the global pandemic of COVID-19 threatened to derail the progress chalked over the first three years of my Administration.

“Its impact has led to the revision in GDP growth for 2020, from 6.8% to 0.9%, and later to 1.9% to reflect a significant slowdown in economic activities as a consequence of the effects of COVID-19 on lives and livelihoods, he explained to the House, which sat in a conference tent erected at the precincts of Parliament, rather than the chamber, in Accra.

President Akufo-Addo said the proactive decisions taken by the government to fight the pandemic as well as revitalise and transform the economy with the one hundred-billion-cedi Ghana CARES ‘Obaatampa’ Programme, anchors bright prospects for the medium-term.

He gave assurance that the Government would continue to implement prudent fiscal measures to quicken the pace of fiscal consolidation.

Also, , Minister for Finance will come before the House to provide further details on the measures to be taken to restore our country back to the path of economic recovery.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said the Government, in four years, had recorded a number of significant milestones in our quest to formalise and modernise the Ghanaian economy.

“We believe it is the fairest and fastest way to achieve our goals,” he said

The President mentioned the National Identity Card rollout, the National Digital Property Addressing System, the interoperability of mobile money transactions, the introduction of the paperless operations at the port, e-business registration system, and access to digital financial services as some of the drive to formalize Ghana’s economy, and enhance its productivity.