Bringing economy back to life comment was not made in jest – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that his widely hailed statement about the government knowing how to bring the economy back to life at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic was not made in jest. In his October 30 address on the economy, President Akufo-Addo pointed to the growth trajectory of the economy amid the pandemic. He opined that the economy grew at a rate of 7% until Russia invaded Ukraine, further worsening the devastating impact Covid-19 had brought onto the economy. “We could all see in real time the devastation that was being wreaked on economies during the pandemic, but I doubt that anyone imagined the extent of the damage. Our economy, here in Ghana, like many, many others around the globe, was thrown into turmoil. “When I said, at the height of the COVID pandemic, that we knew what to do to bring the economy back to life, but not how to bring people back to life, it was not said in jest. We had done it before, and we were on course to doing it again. Ghana’s economy grew by a remarkable 5.4% in 2021, signifying a strong recovery from the 0.5% growth recorded the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “In fact, in the last quarter of 2021, our economy grew at seven percent (7%), only for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the first quarter of this year to aggravate the effects of COVID-19, and plunge the global economy into even greater turmoil from which it has not yet recovered,” he said During one of President Akufo-Addo’s Covid-19 updates in 2020, he emphasized the need for the government to focus on deploying measures to save human lives amid the ravaging pandemic. “We know how to bring the economy back to life. What we do not know is how to bring people back to life,” he said. The statement by the president won him plaudits from world leaders and heads of relevant agencies and non-governmental organizations. In the midst of economic turmoil with many Ghanaians reeling under economic hardship, they have asked the president to actualize his statement by restoring the economy. You can also watch this episode of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV: DS/SARA