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The Minority in Parliament has expressed pessimism about Ghana's economic outlook and said the measures being pursued by the government to solve the economic problems would rather plunge the country into recession.

Reacting to the mid-year review of the 2015 budget presented by the Finance Minister, Mr Seth Terkper, to Parliament yesterday, the

Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, said the measures being pursued by the government, though positive in outlook, were not realistic because they did not address the fundamental challenges of the economy.

“We have a long way to go and the impression is being created that we are out of the woods. We should not be in a haste to make conclusions that the economy is on track because the outlook is shaky," he said during a press conference in Parliament House yesterday.
Minimal impact

According to Dr Akoto Osei, important indicators such as inflation and bank rates had all not seen reductions, while the energy crisis had not been solved.

He said the measures being pursued by the government were not having any positive impact on the economy.

The daily injection of $20 million into the economy to stabilise the cedi, in his view, was not sustainable, as it would deplete the country’s reserves.

Rather, he said, the government should leverage on the country’s oil revenue receipts to boost sectors of the economy that could promote long-term growth, such as agriculture.

He said the government should consider stimulating industry and stop competing with industrialists for capital on the local financial market.

“The nation is getting too deep into borrowing and that shows it is losing its hold on financial matters,” he said.