Take decisive action - Ken Thompson to Akufo-Addo as he predicts looming economic disaster

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dalex Finance and Leasing Company Limited Kenneth Thompson has begged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to as a matter of urgency take decisive action to restore Ghana to economic soundness. Known simply as Ken Thompson, he dramatically went on his knees on the Face To Face programme hosted by Umaru Sanda Amadu on Accra-based Citi TV and pleaded with the president. With pensive look he said, “His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa, what I can see coming is not good. If you’re watching me, what I can see coming is not good. I can see poverty, I can see job losses, I can see business closures, I can see prices going up – prices of electricity will go up, I can see it.” He drew parallels between memories of his childhood and the current economic problems in Ghana. “I lived through the 70s, I saw it. When my mother came back from England, she bought a brand new car – a Peugeot 403. I can see how eventually, she was unable to repair the car. She was involved in a crash – she was on her way to visit me – car crashed and that was the end of it. I remember very well how our carpets became very bare, how our chairs became broken, how we started wearing second-hand clothes – I’ve seen it,” he recalled. Mr Thompson expressed faith in Mr Akufo-Addo to steer the nation clear of the imminent economic disaster he predicted also. “I’m 61, I can’t do much about what’s happening now but you can [Mr President], and I’m begging you that please take decisive action – be decisive because I believe that you’re capable of it and let’s move this country forward,” he noted and added: “Thank you, Sir.” Ghana is currently in an economic crisis admitted to by President Akufo-Addo who maintains it is mainly due to the COVID pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. In his Sunday, October 30, 2022, nation address, he also highlighted rife uninformed speculations and fear-mongering about the cedi as another reason for the sharp depreciation of the cedi against major global trading currencies such as the US dollar. With all that said, he assured, "It is obvious, fellow Ghanaians, that you have a government that cares. We are determined to restore stability to the economy, and provide relief. We are all in this together, and I am asking for your support to rescue Ghana from the throes of this economic crisis." It has been impressed on the president from both the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) members to sack the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to restore faith in Ghana’s economy seeing as Mr Ofori-Atta has obviously failed in his office. President Akufo-Addo has, however, argued, the Finance Minister needs to close the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal before any such decision can be taken.