Experts concerned about impact of Economic Partnership Agreement on Ghana’s economy
Ghana Broadcasting Service | Feb 25, 2015
Experts concerned about impact of Economic Partnership Agreement on Ghana’s economy
Discussants at a roundtable in Accra on national economic growth are skeptical about the expected impact of the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on the Ghanaian economy and West Africa at large.
Leading the discussions, a visiting senior fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Professor John Asafu-Adjaye said the reciprocal trade agreement with the EU is likely to have an overall adverse effect on ECOWAS countries including Ghana.
He said although households will experience welfare gains from the reduced import prices, most industries are likely to suffer severe contractions.
President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Seth Adjei Baah was also apprehensive of the agreement.
He said it was not right for Ghana to have signed the agreement.
In a presentation on exchange rate misalignment and economic growth in Ghana since 1975, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. A.D.A Laryea argued that 25 years after independence, Ghana had become what he called a basket case and serious reforms had to be undertaken to restore growth to the economy.
He said the period after the reforms saw radically different policies that gave a freer hand to the price mechanism.
GBC
