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Tag: Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin

  • Ghana still wallowing in economic crisis, not much has changed – Prof. Bopkin warns

    Ghana still wallowing in economic crisis, not much has changed – Prof. Bopkin warns

    Economist Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin has commented on Ghana’s current economic situation.

    Asserting his perspective, Professor Bokpin insisted that Ghana has not overcome its economic challenges, maintaining that the country has yet to see a positive shift in its economic situation.

    Highlighting the necessity for additional efforts, Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin asserted that Ghana must undertake further measures to completely surmount the persistent crisis currently afflicting the nation.

    While recognizing modest improvements in certain sectors of the economy, Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin advises Ghanaians to prepare for challenging economic conditions ahead.

    During an interview on Joy FM on Tuesday, January 2, he emphasized the necessity for citizens to prepare economically for the year 2024.

    “Let me tell you Ghanaians frankly that we are not out of it (economic crisis) yet. So that every Ghanaian will be moderate in their expectations in terms of how growth is going to turn out and how it is going to benefit Ghanaians. We can have growth at different levels.”

    “The economy can recover at different levels, but before it will benefit the ordinary Ghanaian we need to maintain microeconomic stability for not less than 15 years,” he told host, Kojo Yankson.

  • RESIGN! – Prof Bokpin calls out BoG governor over GHC60bn loss

    RESIGN! – Prof Bokpin calls out BoG governor over GHC60bn loss

    Renowned economist professor, Prof Godfred Alufar Bokpin has called for the resignation of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) in the wake of revelations of alleged GH¢60 billion losses incurred under his watch. 

    The Professor in an interview pulled no punches in expressing his concern over the dire financial situation. He accused the BoG Governor of failing in his duties, leading to staggering financial losses that have sent ripples of panic and uncertainty across the nation.

    “Perhaps I have not studied and gathered situations enough, but to the best of my knowledge, what is happening is legendary. In any serious society, I don’t think the governor will need somebody to advise him to resign. This (GHC60 billion losses) is not something you would want to be on your CV,” he noted. 

    The disclosure of the massive losses recorded at the Bank of Ghana has left citizens bewildered.

    In its audited financial statement for 2022 which was released on July 28, 2023, the bank indicated that as at December 31, 2022, the total liabilities of the central bank and its subsidiaries exceeded its total assets by GHC54.52 billion.

    The losses were attributed to the government’s domestic debt restructuring activities and the depreciation of the local currency, among other factors.

    Nonetheless, the bank recorded a profit of GH¢1.23 billion in the 2021 financial year.

  • Saying Ghana is in a serious crisis is an understatement – Prof. Bokpin

    Saying Ghana is in a serious crisis is an understatement – Prof. Bokpin

    Professor Godfred Bokpin, an economist, claimed in December of last year that Ghana was in a much worse crisis than the administration had anticipated.

    He claimed that the government’s strategy for addressing the economic problem in the nation “appears like trying to fool or surprise the market.”

    He stated, “We know that Ghana is in a profound crisis; in fact, in terms of economics, if there was any word beyond crisis, that is what we would be saying right now.” in an interview with peacefmonline.

    Read the entire article as it appeared in its original form on Peacefmonline on December 10, 2022.

    Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin, a Financial Economist at the University of Ghana (UG) says government’s approach in dealing with the economic challenges facing the country “appears like trying to trick or surprise the market”.

    “The approach government is using in managing all of these appears like trying to trick or surprise the market . . . we know that Ghana is in a deep crisis, in fact in economics if there was any word beyond crisis that is what we will be using now . . . we all do acknowledge that we have to come out of this . . . ” he said.

    Speaking in an interview on Peace FM’s morning show ‘Kokrokoo’, Prof Bokpin said to come out of this situation government needs to have “some moral authority” and call various stakeholders for a “broader consultation”.

    ” . . Broader consultations, the humility to acknowledge where we have gone wrong and where we can do better, that brings everybody to the table is very critical now . . . we need negotiations, to do so you have to come to the negotiation table with some moral authority . . . failure to do that, it’s going to be difficult for us to get out of this,” he averred.

    “Consensus building is the way to go and to do this, it requires honesty and transparent,” he added.

  • Cedi stabilisation good but may not last – Prof. Bokpin

    An Economist at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), has predicted that the appreciation of the Ghana cedi against the major trading currencies may not last long.

    Professor Godfred Bokpin said even though the stabilisation is good, it cannot be sustained in the long run.

    According to him, the resurgence is not backed by strong economic fundamentals.

    The Economist speaking during a roundtable discussion by the Citizen’s Coalition on Thursday, December 15, however, said it is commendable and would bring some relief to Ghanaians.

    “Because it is not driven by strong economic fundamentals, you cannot say it is going to last.  But at least, what we have seen is good. It means the system is responding to the changes.”

    “The cedi thrives on technicalities and general sentiments. When the sentiment is good, the cedi feels it also.

    The 2023 budget has also brought some clarity in terms of the way forward with the Staff Level Agreement. All of these things working together moderate the economic uncertainties,” he said.

    The Ghanaian currency has continued to strengthen the trend against the US dollar and all the other major foreign currencies.

    The cedi in the last two weeks has been on a path of resurgence against all the major trading currencies.

    Cedi stabilisation good but may not last - Prof. Bokpin

    The local currency is currently trading at ¢8 to a dollar.

    Pound and euro are also selling at ¢9.80 and ¢8.50 respectively to the cedi.

    Source: myjoyonline

  • Saying Ghana is in deep crisis is an understatement – Prof. Bokpin

    Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin, a Financial Economist at the University of Ghana (UG) says government’s approach in dealing with the economic challenges facing the country “appears like trying to trick or surprise the market”.

    “The approach government is using in managing all of these appears like trying to trick or surprise the market . . . we know that Ghana is in a deep crisis, in fact in economics if there was any word beyond crisis that is what we will be using now . . . we all do acknowledge that we have to come out of this . . . ” he said.

    Speaking in an interview on Peace FM’s morning show ‘Kokrokoo’, Prof Bokpin said to come out of this situation government needs to have “some moral authority” and call various stakeholders for a “broader consultation”.

    ” . . Broader consultations, the humility to acknowledge where we have gone wrong and where we can do better, that brings everybody to the table is very critical now . . . we need negotiations, to do so you have to come to the negotiation table with some moral authority . . . failure to do that, it’s going to be difficult for us to get out of this,” he averred.

    “Consensus building is the way to go and to do this, it requires honesty and transparent,” he added.

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Today in History: Effect of coronavirus on the economy may go beyond 100 years – Bokpin

    Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin projected that the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world may last for over 100 years before recovery sets in.

    “The reality is that the long-term effect of COVID-19 may go beyond a century. Because the world has witnessed 15 pandemic events and all of them leave behind long-lasting effects.

    “But we are in a better position to shorten that based on the measures we put in place today,” he added.

    An economist, Professor Godfred Bokpin, has predicted that the impact of the coronavirus on economies around the world may take a period of 100 years before these economies can recover.

    He however, noted that some countries are likely to recuperate quickly due to the prudent measures they have instituted to deal with the ravages of the virus.

    The COVID-19 pandemic has put a severe strain on government budgets, manifesting in petroleum revenue shortfalls as a result of plunging crude oil prices, shortfalls in import duties, other tax revenues, and non-tax revenues.

    Speaking at the Ghana Economic Forum on Monday, November 9, Prof Bokpin said “The reality is that the long-term effect of COVID-19 may go beyond a century. Because the world has witnessed 15 pandemic events and all of them leave behind long-lasting effects.

    “But we are in a better position to shorten that based on the measures we put in place today.

    “Looking at a recovery that is broad-based with every aspect doing what is expected of them because it is very critical in ensuring that we are able to finance the growth strategy.”

    In Ghana, a number of measures have been taken to ensure that the effect of the pandemic on the economy does not prolong.

    For instance, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is supporting the government with GH¢10 billion in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison said on 15th May 2020 that “Today, under the Bank of Ghana’s Asset Purchase Programme, the Bank has purchased a Government of Ghana COVID-19 relief bond with a face value of GH¢5.5 billion at the Monetary Policy Rate with a 10-year tenor and a moratorium of two (2) years (principal and interest).”

    Dr Addison added, “The Bank stands ready to continue with its Asset Purchase Programme up to GH¢10 billion in line with the current estimates of the financing gap from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo also launched a GH¢600 million Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP) business support scheme intended to support small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

    The fund was intended to provide relief to SMEs across the country that has been negatively affected by the disease.

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Our democracy is too huge, expensive – Bokpin

    Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin, an economist at the University of Ghana, has lamented how expensive Ghana’s democracy is.

    He claims that the cost of maintaining the nation’s operations prevents the funding of domestic development initiatives.

    At the 11th Ghana Economic Forum, Professor Bokpin warned the government to be prudent with its spending while speaking to GhanaWeb.

    “While we are thrilled about the huge potential to raise more money, we must also urge the government to be prudent with its spending since, in this nation, we have been so wasteful that the cost of operating our democracy has been so high.

    “The cost of running our democracy in terms of the size of government and all of that is just too huge and at the end of the day, it leaves very little for where money has to go for growth to be engineered,” he intimated.

    He also advised that a lean staff structure be adopted across all sectors of the economy.

    “Beyond that, we must replicate that across state-owned enterprises. If you look at their staff strength which has gone up since 2017, we are creating deputy CEOs and all of that. This is the best time for Ghana to look at Ghana and say what is tolerable and what cannot be allowed,” he noted.

  • BoG missed the timing of policy rate hike – Prof. Bokpin

    A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin, has stated that even though the Bank of Ghana’s efforts to address the rising inflation rates by increasing the monetary policy, the timing for its recent hike is wrong.

    The Bank of Ghana increased the monetary policy rate by 250 basis points to 24.5% on October 6, 2022.

    Prof. Bokpin explained that what the Bank of Ghana currently lacks is the right positioning of the policy rate to effectively deal with the current economic crisis.

    “We have said that where we are, the triggers are much more from the fiscal side and therefore there is a limit to how far you can deploy monetary policy largely of course to eliminate the demand-related inflationary pressures but where I disagree with the Bank of Ghana is the timing of their policy rate adjustment that seems to lack in terms of positioning it to anchor inflationary expectation, I think we missed it,” he is quoted by myjoyonline.com.

    Ghana’s current inflation currently stands at 33.9% as of August 2022, the highest it has been in 21 years.

    However, the economist identified that Ghana’s problem has to do largely with the fiscal side of the economy.

    Therefore, the Bank of Ghana should not be blamed entirely.

    “We may be missing the point if we blame the Bank of Ghana so much and leave out the big elephant in the room which is the fiscal side where the political economy is dominant and where politicians and managers of the fiscal side are to be blamed for the current mess that we are in.

    “If you look at Bank of Ghana’s statement for the past year, you will see a certain posture of Bank of Ghana that suggests that they are unhappy with the way the fiscal side is being managed,” he explained.