He recounted how COVID-19 had brought in its wake serious health issues, coupled with a devastating global economic pandemic as well as the Russia-Ukraine war on the African economy.
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Ghana is not the only country experiencing high inflation — Nana Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated that the global economy was enduring its steepest slowdown since 1970.
Nana Addo
He said the inflation rate is not increasing in only Ghana but it is also the same story in some developed countries including the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US).
He made this known when he addressed the second day of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, September 21, 2022.
According to him, "The economic turmoil is global with inflation as the number one enemy this year. It hit a 40-year-high in the US and UK in recent months. There is record inflation in the eurozone.
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"Several African countries have inflation rates surging three to four times higher than what they were just two years ago. In Ghana, we are experiencing the highest inflation for 21 years. The high costs of food are hurting the poor, especially the urban poor, the most."
He stated that the spill over from central banks raising interest rates to combat inflation has been severe beyond borders, as global investors pull money out of developing economies to invest in bonds in the developed world.
"This has led to depreciating currencies and increased borrowing costs; meaning we need to raise and spend more of our own currencies to service our foreign debts in US dollars," he noted.
He added: "It has become clear, if ever there was any doubt, that the international financial structure is skewed significantly against developing and emerging economies like Ghana.
"The avenues that are opened to powerful nations to enable them to take measures that would ease pressures on their economies are closed to small nations. To make matters worse, credit rating agencies have been quick to downgrade economies in Africa, making it harder to service our debts.
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"The tag of Africa as an investment risk is little more than, in substance, a self-fulfilling prophecy created by the prejudice of the international money market, which denies us access to cheaper borrowing, pushing us deeper into debts."
He, however, called for the urgent need for the international financial structure to be reformed to meet the needs of developing and emerging economies.
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