I agree with Bawumia's assessment of economy - Prof Botchwey

A former Finance Minister, Prof. Kwesi Botchwey, says he agrees with Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's assessment of the economy.

In a lecture delivered in March at the Distinguished Speaker Series organised by the Central University College in Accra, Dr Bawumia painted a gloomy picture of the Ghanaian economy, stressing that a bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was inevitable if the government's management of the economy did not improve.

“I’ll like to repeat without exaggeration that the Ghanaian economy is in a crisis," Dr Bawumia said, pointing to high inflation, double digit budget deficit, depreciation of the cedi, and the general lack of growth in the economy. GDP growth, according to him, had declined from 9.4 per cent in 2011 to just 3.4 per cent in 2013.

Prof Botchwey, who delivered a lecture Tuesday as the third speaker in the Distinguished Speaker Series, said he did plan to dispute the claims made by Dr. Bawumia.

“I offer no rebuttals. I do agree with much of what he said," he said.

Listen to Prof Kwesi Botchwey

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Dr Botchwey spoke on the theme, “State of the Nation’s Political Economy and the Role of Civil Society”.

Prof Botchwey holds an LL.B. from the University of Ghana, a LL.M from Yale Law School, and a doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School.

He taught at the University of Zambia, the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and the University of Ghana.