You’re not smart – Vim Lady jabs Ken Ofori-Atta over claim Ghana’s economy is recovering

TV personality, Afia Pokua (alias Vim Lady), has taken a swipe at the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, for saying that the country is out of the economic woes when he presented the 2023 Mid-Year Budget Statement to parliament on July 31, 2023.

According to her, Ghana's economy is at best, stabilising, because the hardships in the country are far from over.

Speaking on her Egyaso Gyaso show on Okay FM, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, Vim lady added that Ghana’s economy is only stabilising because it is being managed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“Ofori has come to tell us the economy is recovering; you have not done anything smart. The economy is not recovering.

“What I see is stability. And the stability is only because we went to the IMF. IMF is now the manager of Ghana’s economy, not Ken Ofori-Atta. So, Ken Ofori-Atta cannot come and brag about this,” she said in Twi.

The journalist added that a recent survey conducted by Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) showed that almost 70 per cent of Ghanaians believed that the economy is heading in the wrong direction.

“68.6 per cent of Ghanaians are saying that the economy is heading in the wrong direction. The economy is in a bad state, it is Ghanaians who are saying this, not Mahama,” she said.

What Ofori-Atta said:

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, said that Ghana is making significant progress in its economic recovery process.

According to him, the data on Ghana’s economic variables shows that the country is recovering from the economic meltdown it suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war.

Ofori-Atta made these remarks while he was presenting the mid-year budget review for 2023 on July 31, 2023, on the floor of parliament.

“Mr. Speaker, it is no exaggeration to say we cannot find another period in our history where so many different headwinds hit our economy at the same time with unrelenting speed and scale. Thankfully, as the numbers are beginning to show and as many Hon. Members of the House have indicated to me in our engagements, we have, together as a nation, turned the corner.

“Mr. Speaker, we have avoided the unimaginable, but what could have been so easily possible under different leadership circumstances. With a lot of effort, we have managed to avoid empty shop shelves for medicines and other essentials; we have seen no shortages of food; we have been spared the frustrating spectre of long queues for fuel at our filling stations; and, we have managed, in spite of all the challenges, to keep the lights on. Indeed, as the Psalmist said (in Psalm 118:23) this is the LORD’s doing; and it is marvellous in our eyes," he said.

The minister also said that the measures put in place by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government, including the implementation of the International Monetary Fund bailout, helped Ghana "turned the corner".

“This ‘turning the corner’ is underpinned by the investments and sacrifices we have collectively made during this difficult period since March, 2020,” he added.

Watch the interview below: