Ghanaian seasoned Journalist, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has said that it will take Ghana four years to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Kweku Baako, the threat of the COVID-19 has gained deep roots into the fabric of the economy and the government will only be pampering itself to think Ghana is resilient enough to bounce back into good shape despite the wreckages that the pandemic is causing.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his regular COVID-19 updates, made a profound quote saying “we know how to bring the economy back to life. What we do not know is how to bring people back to life”.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, 28th April, 2020, following President Nana Akufo-Addo’s quote, which has earned international recognition, the Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah also echoed Ghana’s robustness assuring Ghanaians that “our current economic positioning is a major reason for which we are able to marshal the resources to execute a good number of the interventions we are introducing today. And moving forward, the state of our economy will be key in our ability to introduce the necessary interventions to win the various battles in this war”.
“It makes sense why some may question whether or not Ghana can afford all the interventions the President has outlined in the past about 8 weeks of the Covid-19 response program. This question is justified because looking at our recent economic position, and the gains made recently as a nation, there is the genuine fear that we may be unable to afford the interventions or may end up overstretched if indeed we push through to execute them all.
“Between Jan 2017 and now, however, Ghana has made major strides in correcting the precarious economic conditions it found itself in. Our Fiscal position has improved and our Macro position has significantly improved. The combined effect of improved fiscal position and improved macro position is what enables us to afford the interventions which are being introduced as part of the COVID-19 response program. We have significantly improved national revenues, trimmed our deficit, and yielded a resilient macro position against which we can finance the intervention programs,” Hon. Oppong Nkrumah further stated.
Kweku Baako, however, in a sharp contrast, speaking on an Accra-based radio station, stated that no matter the beautiful picture one paints about Ghana, the country won’t be spared from the ravages of the COVID-19 storm that has hit economies worldwide.
He emphasized that it surely will not take a day for the economy to be revived again.
“All the superpowers, world economies, are crippling . . . This is not like Ebola. You can’t compare COVID-19 to Ebola or even Cholera even though lots of people are dying relative to Cholera. The impact of this global reach, major economies will collapse or are collapsing or under serious pressure. So, I’m not surprised that whatever resilience that we have created, world economy will suddenly be shaken by COVID-19. I’m not surprised. In fact, I would have been surprised if we didn’t have that impact especially considering this global repercussions and dimensions.”
Mr. Baako’s projection for Ghana to make economic strides following the end of the Coronavirus waves is three to four years.
“It might take us some 3 or 4 years to recover . . . from its economic, social, human, psychological implications. I’m not surprised at all. In fact, we should brace ourselves for tough times under no illusion. Nobody should have any illusion,” he accentuated.
