A combination of the COVID-19 epidemic and the commencement of the Russia-Ukraine War have been blamed by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva for Ghana’s economic woes.
According to the head of the IMF, things were looking well for the Ghanaian economy led by Akufo Addo until the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020.
This changed the country’s economic picture, and the beginning of war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022 didn’t help matters
As a result of the deterioration of its economic mix brought on by the two shocks, Ghana is in the process of negotiating a $3 billion credit arrangement with the Fund.
Ms Georgieva said during a roundtable held in conjunction with the Munich Security Conference in Germany that the Fund was under pressure to offer bailouts to suffering member nations as a result of the harm caused by COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine Conflict.
She reassured the crowd that the Fund will follow through on the nearly $650 billion in aid it promised to struggling member states at the end of last year.
“We acknowledge that we live in a world in which innocent bystanders are often the victims of exogenous shocks. COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict seriously weakened Ghana after the country had been striving toward solid policies for some years.
However, President Nana Akufo-Addo lamented the lack of consideration for Africa in global geopolitical and economic decision-making during pandemics and pleaded for further aid for the continent’s citizens.
Ghana has been left to fend for itself in the wake of recent global crises like COVID-19 and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. There was a serious shortage of vaccinations on the African continent during the epidemic, and the same thing happened during the war in Eastern Europe.