Ghana must address income inequality – AfDB

General News of Saturday, 31 January 2015

Source: citifmonline.com

The African Development Bank Resident Representative in Ghana is encouraging government to introduce policies that would translate the country’s growth to equitable distribution of wealth.

According to Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, income inequality in Ghana and across Africa remains high, despite Ghana’s recent gains in growth performance and poverty reduction.

Ghana was expected to halve extreme poverty as part of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) by close of 2014.

According to the ministry of finance, poverty has declined from 39.5 per cent from1998/99 to 28.5 per cent in 2005/06.

Speaking to Citi Business News, Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade said economic opportunities and quality education are key to achieving government’s target.

She spoke at the maiden edition of the New Economic Thinking Lecture (NET lecture) under the theme: “New Economic Thinking for bridging the rising income inequality gap in Africa”.

Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade stated that, “The government and policy makers have an important role to ensure that there is a better redistribution of the growth story”.

The NET lecture was organized by the Young Professional Economists Network (YPEN).