By
Rashid Mbugri, GNA
Tamale, Sept 25, GNA – Vice President Dr
Mahamudu Bawumia has said that the current New Patriotic Party (NPP)
Government’s performance in relation to the economy within its 18 months in
office is the best since 2001.
Dr Bawumia said Ghana’s currency had only
depreciated by seven percent against the dollar compared to other countries
like Argentina, Turkey, South Africa and India, which had higher rates, adding
that inflation had been on the downward trend since the NPP assumed office in
January, 2017.
He said this during the opening of the fourth
National Policy Summit in Tamale on Monday.
The two-day event, which brought together
policy-makers amongst other decision makers and the citizenry, was to assess
the Government’s performance since assuming office in January, last year.
It was on the theme: “Assessing
Government’s Flagship Programmes.”
Dr Bawumia touted the country’s economic
indicators, saying the impressive performance made Standard and Poor, an
international rating agency, to recently upgrade the country’s ratings from B-
during the previous government to B, which was one of the highest grades the
country had received in 10 years ago.
He said the country’s economy was relatively
stable as economic growth increased from 3.7 percent in 2016 to 8.5 percent in
2017, whiles tax on petroleum reduced from 40 per cent to 26 per cent this
year.
Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister-designate for
Information, said the concerns of the citizenry during the summit would be
considered in next year’s budget.
Kpembewura Bismark Daari, Paramount Chief of
Kpembe Traditional Area, appealed to Government to come out with sustainable
strategies to help tackle the issue of Bagre Dam spillage and its
complications.
GNA