The former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors has
painted a gloomy picture for the private sector and the economy for 2023.
Contributing to a discussion on Ghana’s debt restructuring – a forum organized by Citi TV/Citi FM – Mr Hosi said due to the government’s debt exchange programme, which will severely affect several banks in the country, the private sector will struggle to access liquidity in 2023.
He added that several private companies will have no choice but to lay off workers which will greatly increase the unemployment rate in the country and create immense difficulties for the government.
Mr Hosi called on the government to as a matter of urgency cut down the size of the government and the number of employees at State Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
“Look at the number of people at the presidency, you cannot tell me that you didn’t see this coming then you are totally incompetent. The president is very naked, he doesn’t have the right people around him, and I’m really worried because people are losing confidence in the democracy we have.”
I feel that oftentimes, our finance team loses sight of the broad picture and gets a bit more unilateral with their position. I think that there is a bit of hubris that has not really helped. Instead of us engaging and consulting and getting alternative ways of getting things done, people have been a bit too inward-looking and more arrogant in their posturing in trying to solve this problem and that is why we are going to have a very tough ride in trying to resolve what we currently have.”
The government has introduced a domestic debt exchange programme and suspended the payment of some of its external debt.
The debt exchange programme has already recorded some resistance from various labour unions.
Several labour unions have kicked against the imposition of cuts on pension funds as part of the debt exchange programme.
Organised labour has threatened a public sector shutdown by December 27 if its concerns over the programme are not addressed.
The event is on the theme “Ghana debt saga: Now what next?”
The forum moderated by Vivian Kai Lokko, the Head of News at Citi TV/FM had speakers such as David Ampaw, an international restructuring lawyer, Mavis Owusu Gyamfi, a political economist and Senyo Hosi, an investor and economic policy analys
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