The minister of finance designate, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, on Monday said he is committed to working hard to ensure low prices, stable Cedi and jobs.
He outlined his priority areas when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for vetting.
Dr Ato Forson, said “low prices, stable Cedi and jobs are my priorities and I want to be remembered for achieving these”.
The finance minister designate, said his vision is to effectively coordinate with the Bank of Ghana to bring inflation down to 8% +/-2 in the shortest possible term.
He said in the short term, the government will anchor prices on careful expenditure-based front-loaded fiscal consolidation while protecting growth and the vulnerable.
While observing that food inflation is a major driver of inflation, which is currently 23.8%, Dr Ato Forson said “there is an urgent need to reduce inflation by tackling food inflation”.
“As a government, our strategy to reduce food inflation is to roll out Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA)”, he said.
He continued “I will direct government expenditure towards the agricultural and agri-business sectors to enhance productivity, make food cheaper and create jobs”.
Dr Ato Forson also promised to ensure that monetary financing, which in the recent past has become a major driver of inflation, is eliminated.
On stabilising the Cedi, the Minister of Finance designate said the Ministry would have to play a critical role in addressing the structural challenges of the economy, including the management of the fiscal policy.
“We cannot leave the Bank of Ghana alone to anchor the Ghana Cedi”, he said.
Dr Ato Forson, said in the short term, government will also anchor the exchange rate on a careful and strong front-loaded fiscal consolidation agenda, adding “it is now time for expenditure cut. Let’s cut the waste”.
He said to address the age-old exchange rate problems, the government will sustainably anchor the exchange rate by implementing a number of deliberate policies such as the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board, revitalising the cocoa sector, revamping the oil and gas sector, revitalising the palm industry and non-traditional export development.
“These will also help in improving Ghana’s credit ratings from the current CCC+”, Dr Ato Forson said.
