Senior Lecturer Disputes Blaming Rating Agencies for Ghana’s Economic Woes

Dr. Patrick Assumin, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, has voiced his disagreement with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s assertion that rating agencies are solely responsible for Ghana’s economic downturn.

“Rating agencies are not to blame. We were well aware of the challenging economic situation before their involvement. Every Ghanaian knew the state of the economy even before the ratings were announced,” said Dr. Assumin.

Speaking on Nkwantannanso with Samuel Kwaw on June 20, he pointed out that Ghanaians had already recognized the prevailing issues, and while the ratings did have an impact, they should not be held responsible for the country’s predicament.

The lecturer also highlighted the inconsistency of blaming rating agencies now, considering that in the past, Ghana welcomed and celebrated upgrades in its ratings.

According to him, these agencies utilize publicly available information, including the budget and data from the Ghana Statistical Service, to conduct their analyses.

Furthermore, he argued that Ghana’s overreliance on imports without sufficient efforts in industrialization will continue to lead the country down the path of seeking assistance from organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

During his address at the 30th Annual Meeting of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Accra, President Akufo-Addo shed light on the adverse consequences of these downgrades. He argued that they have severed Ghana’s access to the capital market, intensifying the nation’s liquidity crisis and transforming it into a solvency crisis.