President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the 2023 Budget will strive to address Ghanaians’ concerns and incorporate their goals into economic management.
He stated that it was for this reason that he had spent the last three weeks interacting with many players in Ghanaian society and the economy to gain their thoughts, concerns, and preoccupations, so that the final conclusion would address those problems as broadly as feasible.
Last Friday, President Akufo-Addo met with the leadership of the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Jubilee House as part of his broad-based consultation with diverse groups on the economy.
Following the introduction of coalition members and President Akufo-Addo’s inaugural comments, the meeting was taken into a closed-door session.
CDD-Ghana, the Citizens Movement Against Corruption, the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health, Africa Education Watch, the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana, the Ghana Integrity Initiative, the Citizen Ghana Movement, Oxfam Ghana, SEND Ghana, and IDEG were among the coalition’s representatives.
Prior to that, the President met with leaders of the Ghana Bar Association, the Christian Council of Ghana, market queens, the GPRTU, labor unions, the Ghana Employers Association, the Ghana Journalists Association, the Private Enterprises Federation, and the Ghana Forex Bureaux Association.
Other organizations include the Ghana Industries Association, the Ghana Association of Bankers, and the Council of State.
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President Akufo-Addo stated that everyone was aware of the country’s difficulties and the government’s efforts to address them, adding, “I don’t think that effort will succeed unless it is guided and affected by a broad consultation process.”
He stated that in the last three weeks, he had spoken with a wide range of players in the economy and society since Ghana had approached the IMF for assistance in repairing public finances and rebuilding the balance of payments.
He went on to say that the government was also working on a budget for the fiscal year 2023, and that it was critical that the end result of its efforts had the support of the Ghanaian people.
“Both the negotiations with the IMF and the making of the 2023 budget should be done in such a way that they can have broad-based support as possible.
“And for that to happen, we have to be in a position to consult with stakeholders, get their insights, concerns and preoccupations, so that the final outcome will address those concerns,” President Akufo-Addo added.
Ambassador
In another development, the President has chosen Kwaku Domfeh, a former Director General of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), as Ghana’s Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the responsibility of keeping the government informed of developments in the nation.
He stated that Ghana had good relations with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and urged the incoming envoy to build on that relationship by working with the embassy personnel with mutual respect and seeking the interests of the Ghanaian community in that nation.
SOURCE: GRAPHICONLINE