As global economic crises ‘pile up’, Ghanaian leader says it’s time for urgent attention – Global Affairs
President Akufo-Addo’s speech at the Council’s 77th annual high-level debate focused primarily on the global economic challenge and the need for effective solutions for economies. Africa.
Global economic crisis
Remember that COVID-19 “Last Thursday, the World Bank observed that Africa was in its worst recession in half a century, that the global economy was suffering its steepest downturn since,” he said. since 1970. Two years ago, our world stopped working like a hurricane, as we cowed in a health pandemic from a virulent, unidentified virus, along with an economic pandemic. devastating global economy. High budget deficits are no longer a concern for developing countries alone.”
When it comes to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he added, which exacerbates an already difficult situation, “Every bullet, every bomb, every projectile that hits its target in Ukraine, hits our pockets and our economies in Africa.”
Some African countries have inflation rates three to four times higher than they were just two years ago. Ghana is experiencing its highest inflation in 21 years, he said.
President Akufo-Addo emphasized that the international financial architecture has been significantly deviated from that of developing and emerging economies such as Ghana. He notes that “in essence, treating Africa as an investment risk is not the same as a self-fulfilling prophecy created by the prejudice of international money markets, which deny us access to with cheaper loans, pushing us into deep debt”, thus underscoring the need for system reform.
A watershed moment, really
“We do not have the power to choose a big problem to solve,” the president of Ghana said. None of them can wait; the turbulent economic situation requires urgent and immediate solutions; turmoil and insecurity in many parts of the world require urgent attention; and therefore it is necessary to address the problems posed by climate change. “
He also addressed the security situation in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region and expressed disappointment at the fact that all of Ghana’s neighbors had suffered attacks. terrorist attacks, and some have lost their territorial space to invading forces. At the same time, he was determined to reverse these unfortunate developments.
‘United States of Africa’
When he remembers Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, now 113 years old, he recalls De Nkrumah’s driving force in politics, which was to contribute to the birth of a united Africa, or aka ‘United States of Africa’.
President Akufo-Addo told world leaders that “Africa is ready for business. Africa needs you and you need Africa. You need Africa because Africa is busy building the largest market in the world with 1.3 billion people. ” He went on to add that Africa is the new frontier for manufacturing, technology, food production.
He concluded by calling on the investor community to support the launch of Africa’s lucrative agricultural sector and to show the community that agribusiness in Africa is more of an opportunity than a perceived risk, exaggeration which, according to him, is wrong. but the narrative prevails.
