{"id":39417,"date":"2025-09-26T17:55:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T17:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/39417\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T17:55:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T17:55:17","slug":"ghanas-economic-crisis-was-homegrown-not-caused-by-covid-or-ukraine-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/39417\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghana’s economic crisis was homegrown, not caused by Covid or Ukraine war"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Nana <\/a>Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is the former president<\/p>\n

The World Bank has pushed back against the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration\u2019s long-held narrative that Ghana\u2019s 2022 economic collapse was the result of global turmoil, the <\/a>COVID-19<\/a> pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.<\/p>\n

It insisted that the economic meltdown was \u201chomegrown\u201d.<\/p>\n

In its latest 2025 Policy Notes on Ghana, the Bank made clear that while the <\/a>COVID-19<\/a> pandemic and Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine worsened the situation, they were not the root cause. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe deterioration of global conditions\u2026 was not the cause of the 2022 macroeconomic crisis; rather, it merely exposed an economy already beset with deep structural vulnerabilities and precarious macroeconomic conditions,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

The government has frequently blamed external shocks for the collapse, which saw inflation spiral, the cedi plummet, and the country default on its debt. <\/p>\n

But the World Bank said years of weak governance, fiscal indiscipline, and stalled reforms were the real culprits of Ghana’s “dark days”.<\/p>\n

Interbank Market: Cedi trades at GH\u00a212.35 to $1<\/a><\/p>\n

The bank also argued that the easy access to international credit and expectations of resource windfalls encouraged short-term political decisions at the expense of long-term stability.<\/p>\n

The report noted that the cycle of expansionary spending followed by painful corrections, one that has forced Ghana into 17 IMF programs over the past 68 years, is damaging.<\/p>\n

\u201cSudden macroeconomic stops and crises have led the country to request a record number of IMF programs, remaining under active IMF support for 40 out of its 68 years of history,\u201d the Bank said.<\/p>\n

The report also noted that more than 800,000 people were pushed into poverty in the aftermath of the 2022 crisis, with per capita incomes stuck at around US$2,200 for over a decade. <\/p>\n

Today, more than a quarter of Ghanaians live below the poverty line, it noted.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, the Bank also raised alarms about Ghana\u2019s fiscal management in the 2024 election year. <\/p>\n

It flagged unbudgeted spending commitments of roughly US$4.8 billion, equivalent to 5.7% of GDP, much of it accumulated outside official financial systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpending indiscipline poses a critical challenge\u2026undermining efforts to maintain fiscal discipline and compromising long-term sustainability,\u201d the report cautioned.<\/p>\n

Also, the energy sector arrears still cost around 2% of GDP annually, while COCOBOD\u2019s debts reached US$1.8 billion in 2024, with interventions distorting markets and hurting farmers.<\/p>\n

The bank warned that Ghana now stands at a critical crossroads, and temporary fixes will not be enough. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an urgent need to signal a clear break from the past and a commitment to change\u2026 Success will ultimately be measured by the ability of the government to regain the trust of its citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Its recommendations are focused on restoring fiscal discipline, broadening the tax base, reforming state-owned enterprises, and enhancing governance. <\/p>\n

Without decisive reforms, the World Bank cautions, Ghana risks remaining trapped in its cycle of crisis and bailouts for decades to come.<\/p>\n

SSD\/SA<\/p>\n

Watch the latest Health Focus on PCOS below<\/p>\n

Watch the latest edition of BizTech below:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is the former president The World Bank has pushed back against the erstwhile Akufo-Addo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[114,184,85,46],"class_list":["post-39417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}