Former Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen stated that Ghana had no choice but to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund.

He claims that because Ghana's debt levels had surged and the country's international reserves at the Central Bank were depleted, it was critical that the country have some cushion.

“We went to the IMF, and they agreed to have a package of support for us. Part of the condition was for us to reduce our debt-to-GDP ratio from 105% to 55%. The condition to expect from you to be able to enjoy a bailout is for you to bring your debt to sustainable levels.

It was clear that as a country, we had overextended ourselves. However, if we had prioritized my recommendations for industrialization and the kinds of things I'm talking about today in my GTP, we would have laid the groundwork for a resilient economy," he remarked.

Alan Kyerematen admitted that the Russian-Ukraine war and COVID-19 have long-term consequences for Ghana's economy.

“These two external factors exposed the structural vulnerabilities in our economy. There are matured economies that suffered the impact of the same external shocks but were able to deal with the shock much better because they have resilient economies.

"In our case the fact that we are not exporting enough and producing enough, the fact that we end up importing all the things we can produce in this country creates a certain challenge for our economy to withstand external shocks.”