Private legal practitioner Victoria Bright says Ghana has moved from economic crisis to stability, citing improvements in key macroeconomic indicators following the President’s recent State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show, Ms Bright described the government’s first year in office as one anchored in macroeconomic consolidation and the restoration of investor confidence.
“I think, as we have heard since the SONA was read out by the President, it’s a stabilisation narrative,” she said.
Ms Bright pointed to a series of improved economic indicators as evidence of progress. According to her, Ghana now has a stronger currency, lower debt ratios compared to previous levels, higher foreign reserves and reduced inflation.
She also highlighted positive developments in the gold export sector and noted that proposed reforms within the cocoa industry could further strengthen the country’s economic outlook.
“It’s undeniable that Ghana has a stronger currency, we have lower debt ratios compared to what we had before, we also have higher reserves, and lower inflation. Gold exports are doing well, and there are some cocoa sector reforms being proposed,” she said.
However, she cautioned that the proposed cocoa reforms would require closer scrutiny to ensure they deliver meaningful and sustainable results.
Reflecting on the broader economic context, Ms Bright acknowledged that Ghana had previously found itself in “deep waters”, a situation that eroded the country’s credibility and weakened its attractiveness as an investment destination.
She argued that the administration’s primary focus in its first year has been to repair that damage through fiscal discipline and macroeconomic stabilisation.
“The first year of the President’s administration has been anchored on macroeconomic consolidation and a restoration of our credibility,” she noted. “We found ourselves in some deep waters, and it naturally eroded our credibility and our attractiveness as an investment destination.”
Ms Bright said the country has now “pivoted from that kind of crisis situation into stabilisation”, but warned that sustaining the progress will be the real test.
While acknowledging the improved figures, she questioned whether the current stability is structural or merely cyclical.
“The test really is whether this is cyclical, whether this is something that is going to stay as a new trajectory of genuine fiscal discipline or whether we are just being given a temporary breathing space from the debt restructuring and the current favourable commodity prices, which may change soon,” she said.
Ultimately, Ms Bright stressed that improved macroeconomic indicators must translate into tangible benefits for ordinary Ghanaians, particularly young people.
For her, the true measure of success will not simply be improved fiscal ratios, but whether the administration can convert economic stability into jobs, opportunities and improved living standards.
“One of the big tests of the President’s administration is whether they can translate these significantly improved numbers into opportunities for the youth, the next generation, and whether we can also begin to feel some of these things in our pocket,” she added.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com