CEO of Dalex Finance, Mr Joe Jackson, has cautioned the government to watch out for wage and salary pressures.
He warned the government against overjubilation on the economic recovery witnessed I recent months.
To him, Ghana is still broke.
“I have repeatedly said to everyone that Ghana is still broke; let us not think that the benevolence and the goodness we have enjoyed mean we are out of the woods yet, so they should watch out for wage and salary pressures,” he said on Ghana Tonight o TV3 Thursday July 24 while commenting on the 2025 mid year budget review.
Mr Joe Jackson further highlighted the risks that face Ghana’s economy despite the recovery.
The first risk he highlighted was that Ghana’s revenue sources are underperforming. This, he said, should be a major concern to all. The other risk he touched on had to do with a foreign exchange issue.
“The first risk is that Ghana’s revenue sources are underperforming, which is a huge risk. The customs revenue shortfall is huge, and we must be concerned. That also dovetails into the fact that smuggling is supposed to take away some of our revenue, wage and salary pressures…”
He added “The foreign currency is another source of concern. At this moment, there seems to be such a significant divergence between the Bank of Ghana rate and the forex rate, which is never a good sign, that tells you that we are not able to get dollars from the banks at the rate. Nobody chooses to go to the forex if they can’t get it at the bank rate. That divergence tells you that I am not getting to so I am prepared to pay more to get what I want,” he said on the Ghana Tonight show on Thursday, July 24.
For his part, a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Joshua Jebuntie Zaato said that one thing the managers of the economy have not handled properly is the middlemen in the exchange rate popularly referred to as “Abochi.
He says that whereas some banks do not have dollars for customs, the abochi has the dollars ready to exchange for higher rates.
This, in his view, is a disturbing phenomenon that must be addressed.
Contributing to a discussion on the mid-year budget presentation on TV3’s Key Point Saturday, July 26, Dr Zaato said “One thing we have not done well is dealing with the abochi saga. You go to the bank, there is no dollar, but the abochi is standing behind the bank with dollars.”
Dr Zaato, also accused the Mahama administration of inconsistency. He says that whereas the current managers of the economy admit to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the previous government set a good foundation for an economic recovery, they also paint a different picture when they speak to Ghanaians, claiming Ghana was a crime scene.
“We have made it look like when the economy was handed over, it was bad and there was nothing good about it, but somehow we are seeing figures today that contradict the current government on what they say.
“They made it look like they inherited a crime scene, but when they meet the IMF, they praise the former government. This doesn’t show consistency,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, July 26.
His comments come at a time the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, said that at the time the Mahama administration took over governance on January 7, the economy was struggling.
He stated that they inherited a weak financial sector with significant non-performing loans. Additionally, he noted that they inherited a derailing IMF programme.
“Indeed, as President Mahama said, the whole of Ghana was a crime scene,” he remarked during the mid-year budget presentation.
Dr. Ato Forson accused the previous Akufo-Addo administration of incompetence in managing the economy.
He also blamed the central bank under the Akufo-Addo government for driving inflation to unprecedented levels.
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In contrast to the previous administration, he said President Mahama has chosen the path of structural reforms and transformation.
“We have made significant progress; the signs of recovery are visible,” he added.
