According to him, the structural issues and challenges that need to be addressed in the energy sector, along with what he described as the “mess” at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), and the declining production in the cocoa sector, cannot be resolved overnight.

Speaking on Joy News’ AM Show on Tuesday, January 14, Dr. Acheampong stated, “I think at the minimum, you need probably about a year and a half before you begin to see those lagged effects.”

He also mentioned the importance of the government sending the right signals to both citizens and the investor community.

Dr. Acheampong opined that inflation will not reduce in the short term.

“Bringing down inflation, I don’t think it is going to get to 10% anytime soon; it’s probably a year-and-a-half down the line. All those things become extremely important,” he said.

He also added that the economy must create opportunities for Ghanaians, particularly in terms of jobs.

“Ultimately, this economy has to deliver for Ghanaians in terms of jobs,” he said.

ALSO READ:

• Free SHS not sustainable under current economy; we must review – Angel Carbonu [Audio]

• Ghana’s fiscal space cannot fund political party pledges – Theo Acheampong

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, he emphasised that whichever government is voted into power will face the challenge of limited fiscal space.

Dr Acheampong explained that the incoming government will not have the resources needed to finance the extensive promises being made, noting that this calls for a deeper examination of how these campaign promises will be executed.

“The issue of how they’re actually going to fund these campaigns becomes very, very, very important because the money is just not there, and so we’ve got to be creative as to how they’re actually going to deliver on these promises and ultimately how it translates into outcomes,” he stated.

The economist added “So if you have that limited fiscal space available, and, for example, we’re promising to pay sub-chiefs, and we say you want to rope them into the governance process, you pay them, and what would they do? How do they actually contribute to the improvement of governance across the board in the country?”

Dr Acheampong stated that political parties addressing the funding of promises is crucial to determining the feasibility of promises and ensuring they translate into tangible outcomes.

He noted that these promises when implemented should reduce poverty and inequality and improve the general well-being of Ghanaians “because, as we speak currently, things are not that great.”

ALSO READ:

• We’re for peace, but we’ll resist any attempts to rig 2024 election – Mahama

• Don’t give NDC supporters false hope about 2024 election – Afenyo-Markin to Asiedu Nketia

He commended the administration for adhering to the guidelines of the program, which he considers a significant achievement.

In an interview on JoyNews’ AM Show on Monday, April 15, Dr. Acheampong expressed his approval, stating that the government’s commitment to fulfilling the program’s requirements thus far is commendable.

He stressed the importance of consistency and adherence to targets to ensure the full realisation of the program’s benefits for the country.

However, Dr. Acheampong also highlighted the importance of addressing challenges encountered during the implementation of the IMF deal in a timely manner.

He stressed that overcoming these obstacles promptly is essential to maintaining the momentum of progress and maximising the program’s positive impact on Ghana’s economy.

“In General, I think the programme has delivered on the broad structural quantitative objectives. So I think overall, I think they have met some of the targets.”

Ghana has achieved a significant milestone by reaching a Staff-Level Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the second review of the Extended Credit Facility. This development paves the way for the release of $360 million by the IMF, pending approval by the IMF Board.

The agreement was reached following a series of meetings held in Accra from April 2 to April 12, led by an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team, with Stéphane Roudet, the Mission Chief for Ghana, at the helm.

These discussions focused on assessing the progress of reforms and identifying the authorities’ policy priorities within the framework of Ghana’s three-year program under the Extended Credit Facility.

ALSO READ:

• Ghana secures $360m from IMF with Staff-Level agreement for second review of extended credit…

• IMF’s second review focuses on election spending, debt, and revenue measures

This comes after the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta told Parliament that Ghana’s economy under the Akufo-Addo administration is valued at over GH¢1 trillion as against the GHc219.5billion that was inherited from the Mahama administration in 2016.

Reacting to this in a Twitter post, he noted that this shows the managers of the Ghana’s economy do not understand basic macroeconomics.

“I feel that our market women understand better economics than our leaders,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Mr Ofori-Atta said that the government is now focused on maintaining the current economic growth.

He indicated that, government is determined to ensure the stability of the local currency and disinflation over the medium term.

The Finance Minister also assured that, the government is poised to “maintain stability and keep growing.  and ensure increased growth, currency stability”.

ALSO READ:

• 2024 budget: Economist schools Ken Ofori-Atta

• Ghana’s economy projected to exceed GH¢1 trillion in 2024 – Ofori-Atta

• Govt targets GH¢176.4bn revenue in 2024; aims to spend GH¢226.7bn

Below is the tweet:

GHS1 trillion GDP in nominal terms is MEANINGLESS in economics. It appears to show that the managers of the economy do not understand basic macroeconomics. I feel that our market women understand better economics than our leaders. If GHS1 trillion, is a "mere projection" as my…

— Theo Acheampong, PhD (@mytheoz) November 18, 2023

This comes after the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta told Parliament that Ghana’s economy under the Akufo-Addo administration is valued at over GH¢1 trillion as against the GHc219.5billion that was inherited from the Mahama administration in 2016.

He said that the government is now focused on maintaining the current economic growth.

Mr Ofori-Atta indicated that, government is determined to ensure the stability of the local currency and disinflation over the medium term.

He assured that the government is poised to “maintain stability and keep growing.  and ensure increased growth, currency stability”.

But taking to Twitter, Dr Acheampong said “The Finance Minister should rather be talking about Gross National Income (total GNI or per capita or growth rate) as one of the better macro indicators of our economic prosperity.”

Inflation is currently 35.2% per the figures from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

ALSO READ:

• Ghana’s economy projected to exceed GH¢1 trillion in 2024 – Ofori-Atta

• Govt targets GH¢176.4bn revenue in 2024; aims to spend GH¢226.7bn

• Infographics: All you need to know about the 2024 budget

Below is his tweet:

A 1 trillion Ghana cedi economy means nothing when inflation is still in excess of 30%. It's actually just $83bn at current exchange rate of USD 1 to GHS12. The finance minister should rather be talking about Gross National Income (total GNI or per capita or growth rate) as one…

— Theo Acheampong, PhD (@mytheoz) November 16, 2023

He said that prices of gold for oil consignment on the market are higher compared to those from other sources of fuel.

Dr Theo Acheampong pointed out that the Bulk Oil Distributing Companies (BDCs) who did not sign up for the policy are rather selling fuel at lower prices.

This, according to him, does not meet the second objective for the policy, thus to bring down prices of fuel at the pumps.

“As we speak currently in the recent pricing window, the gold for oil product that came in are actually selling slightly higher than products that are on the market that the normal BDCs who are not participating in this policy programme, are doing,” he stated in an interview on JoyNews Newsfile on Saturday.

Giving further details, Dr Acheampong said, “Petrol under gold for oil is selling at about 9.6 cedis per litre and from the non gold for oil sources are selling it at about 9.1 cedis per litre. So you got almost like a 50 pesewa difference. Similar thing with diesel.”

For this reason he dismissed claims that the gold for oil policy is the reason for a decline in fuel prices at the pumps.

He explained that, “what is driving the price at the local level which is a function of the international price and crude oil price, is the function of the exchange rate.”

“It cannot be the case that all the drop that we are seeing is truly attributable to this gold for oil policy,” Dr Acheampong reiterated.

But in reaction, the Deputy Energy Minister, Andrew Egyapa Mercer said the comment is not borne out of facts.

According to him, the price of fuel on the market is a margin game, adding that, “there is a cap within which the OMCs and the BDCs operate. So if you want to remain competitive, you can reduce your margin which is really the profit that you make on the product that you sell.”

Reading out the flat average prices per pricing window, he said “the window of January 21st when the first consignment came in, PMS by the BDCs was 889.59 per metric tonne and gold for oil was 888.36 per metric tonne.

ALSO READ:

SONA 2023: Gold for oil deal bearing fruits – Akufo-Addo

Only OMC’s with 45 retail outlets will receive gold for oil products – NPA

“The week of the second February window PMS under the BDC regime is 848.35 and under the gold for oil is 839.83. Also the March 1 window, PMS was 829.73 and under gold for oil is 785.63,” he said.

It would be recalled that Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia speaking at the commissioning of a new head office for the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company in Accra on March 15 stated that the country will save $4.8 billion annually from the ‘Gold for Oil’ policy which began this year.

According to him, the ‘Gold for Oil’ policy which is now in its third month is already yielding a positive impact and is expected to cause a reduction in prices of petroleum products at the pumps.

However, Mr. Bawumia’s assertion was refuted by the Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah saying the recent decline in petroleum products has nothing to do with government’s gold for oil programme.

The former Minister for Energy and Petroleum said the decline is due to global fall in crude oil prices.

“Mr Speaker, when we are discussing this matter, we must be very serious. I heard the Vice President saying that petrol prices have gone down because of gold for oil…the reason the fuel prices have gone down is that crude prices were over $100 and it has come down to $72 globally. It has nothing to do with gold for oil,” he stated.

Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, he said that the calls for the minister’s resignation is not because he is not liked but because he has made serious policy mistakes which have impacted the livelihoods of many.

Dr Acheampong, listing some of the minister’s faults, said that “one is the E-Levy, number two on the fact that philosophically he doesn’t support us going to the IMF.”

“So if it is something you don’t want to do and you are fundamentally against then why are you the one leading us and driving that negotiation? If I were him I would have resigned,” he added.

The Economist added that there is a crisis manifesting itself across all facets of social and economic life; noting that people no longer trust the Finance Minister.

“The finance minister has lost a bit of that credibility within the market and financial ecosystem. In the midst of all of these policy vacuums and the fact that many market players don’t really put that much weight on the Finance Minister.”

This comes days after the cedi was cited by a Bloomberg report as the worst-performing against the dollar worldwide. The Ghana cedi also lost further grounds Friday morning to trade at ¢14.70 to the dollar, quotations from the forex bureaus indicate.

The free fall of the local currency is expected to pose a difficulty to Ghanaians with a fast depreciation being seen. Transport fares are also expected to increase following an increment in fuel prices.

Checks by JoyBusiness on October 16 indicated that some OMCs are selling a price of petrol per litre for ¢13.10, from the previous price of ¢11.10, about a 16% increase. Similarly, the price of diesel per litre shot up to about ¢15.99 from the previous price of ¢13.90. This is about a 12% surge.

These and many others have affected the livelihoods of Ghanaians over the past few weeks with many businessmen calling on the government for help.

Meanwhile, Dr Acheampong told the host, Emefa Apawu that the President needs to address the public about what steps the government is taking to resolve the issues.

“Amidst all these crises there is also some sort of information or policy vacuum, where that is feeding, to an extent, into even some of the issues or what we are seeing with the exchange rate. We need someone to speak to us in a more sort of credible and tangible manner,” he said.

Dr Acheampong added that “the president needs to speak to all of us forthrightly about the challenges that we face and about what they are doing to get us out of it. We have seen the president speak to us, particularly during the covid crisis. I think we are at the time where the president must address the nation.”