Government has conceded that times are hard in the country.

The government said despite the hardship, which they blame Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war for, it believes it believes in the overcoming spirit of Ghanaians.

“We concede that times are hard and things are not what we desired. But we believe in the overcoming spirit of the Ghanaian people, a spirit that does not cower in the face of challenges,” Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said in the Mid-Year Budget Review presented before Parliament on Monday, 25 July 2022.

He noted that “it is this spirit that inspires us as a Government to provide the leadership that is required.”

He stated that the government’s decision to go to the IMF again, despite what it had determined earlier, is a short-term measure for balance of payment support.

The Minister suggested that in the longer-term what the nation really need is a major structural shift in the economy.

“The structure of the economy is still largely primary despite the numerous attempts to structurally transform it through various industrialisation programmes. We are heavily reliant on primary commodities, extractive industry and are price takers on the market. Our capacity and productivity remains low both in the public and private sectors. There are huge inefficiencies as well as limited skills to foster our developments and improve the standards of living,” he pointed out.

In this regard, Mr Ofori-Atta said any adverse global development impacts the nation negatively no matter how efficient government manage the economy.

He explained that, that is why the President’s vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid is critical as “it is to reduce our vulnerability to global shocks.”

He expressed that over the last few years the implementation of flagships including the 1D1F, the Planting for Food and Jobs, the Road and Railway development programme and “our recovery programme the GhanaCARES ‘Obaatan Pa’, will add value to our products.”

To increase productivity in both the public and private sector of the economy to drive the country’s transformation agenda, Government, he noted, will implement programmes such as the YouStart as well as the Training and Retraining programme to enhance the skills of Ghanaians especially the youth.

Furthermore, he said the government will:

· Promote a robust digital-technology driven in architecture for unique identification to aid revenue mobilisation, expenditure management and enhance security;

· Improve connective transport and communication infrastructure that promotes national and regional trade; and

· Strengthen the financial ecosystem, reinforced with the Development Bank Ghana, that supports Ghanaian enterprises and enhances inclusive growth.