Hope is not a strategy – IMANI’s Kofi Bentil tells Finance Chief Ofori-Atta
Business Strategist and Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, says he is worried about the “language” and “tone” of the Finance Minister regarding the country’s economic crisis.
According to Mr Bentil, the Finance Minister’s language and tone is always about good news ahead instead of actually telling the citizenry about the real problems facing the economy and what has to be done to exit the current economic challenges.
“The Finance Minister’s language and tone are always about some good news ahead, he has said this from the beginning, said it before we went into a crisis, said it during the crisis, and also said it before going to the IMF.
“The DDEP is not done, external debt restructuring is not done and yet he is saying we have ‘turned the corner’. ‘Turning the corner’ is in figures and not in words or lofty speaking.
“I get the fact that the Finance Minister wants to give us hope, but hope is not a strategy,” he quipped.
Touching on the 2023 Mid-Year Budget Review during the NorvanReports and Economic Governance Platform X Space Townhall Discussion on the Topic “Mid-Year Budget Statement: Recession or Growth Signal”, Mr Bentil
remarked that he expected the Finance Minister to tell the country clearly how intends to get the country out of the current economic crisis.
“For me, what I wanted to hear was the price we have to pay to get out of this crisis and how it’s going to be done,” he stated.
Adding that in his view, the managers of the Ghanaian economy don’t seem to appreciate the problems of the country, stating that, “if nothing serious is done, we will have a big crisis on our hands.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Finance Minister, Dr. John Ampontuah Kumah, has sought to dispel any misinterpretations, clarifying that the phrase “turning the corner” does not signify an absolute resolution of all economic challenges. Instead, it indicates some progress made and a discernible path towards recovery.
Dr. Kumah explained the context behind the metaphorical expression, comparing it to the act of turning a corner while driving – signifying a clearer vision and a more direct route to a better destination. Despite the Finance Minister’s confidence in the country’s trajectory, experts raise concerns about the sustainability of this positive outlook.
