A senior economist at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Doctor John Kwaakye has taunted Ghanaian leadership to look within the scope of the country since there are more economists who understand the Ghanaian economy.

Speaking with Omanhene Adu Boakye on Thursday, July 14^th, 2022, the economic fellow of I.E.A said, there was no need for political leaders to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund since there are economists who could have managed the natural resources to better the economy instead of running to the I.M.F.

He further analyzed the current economic situation and compared it to the country’s next-door neighbor Cote D’Ivoire who shared a similar shock yet their inflation rate for the month of May is 3.5% as compared to 29.6% for Ghana in June.

“What are they doing different from us, there is an abundance of food there, but here in Ghana, on averagely we spent 44% of our total budget on food, while other countries spend 10% or less on food, why is our case different, he asked.

He added that they have over the years advised the government on how to bridge the gap in taxation.

“We the I.E.A has over the years advised the government on how to fill some gaps and loopholes to his advantage, something like tax exemptions which are given to politically connected people are all avenue that the government can get enough funds from there, poverty taxes and other areas are the loopholes we need to fix. He said.

He shared the view that the government has been adamant about this advice which could have balanced the budget and paid all areas instead of going back to the IMF.

Source…ww.sompaonline.com/Eric Murphy Asare