Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has dismissed the practice of attributing Ghana’s economic challenges to distant global events, arguing that domestic leadership decisions matter more.
During an interview on TV3 monitored by MyNewsGh, Tameklo criticised narratives that previously blamed external conflicts for local economic outcomes.
“You have a situation where a whole government communication setup is put and it is Russia-Ukraine,” he said.
He questioned the logic behind those explanations. “The people who were having bombs dropped on them in Russia and Ukraine had their inflation single-digit.
“Look at the distance from here to Ukraine. We were rather having double-digit inflation and Russia-Ukraine were responsible for that,” he remarked.
Tameklo also used exchange rate performance to illustrate his point, referencing the recent $709 million debt repayment.
“If that $709 million was paid when NPP were in power, we were going to pay 13 billion Ghana cedis,” he said.
He contrasted that with current figures. “But because today the exchange rate has reduced, come down, stabilised at 10.5, when Artur Fawcett paid that debt of $709 million, do you know how much he paid in Ghana cedis? A little over 8 billion. Look at the savings,” he stated.
According to Tameklo, such outcomes are tied to leadership choices. “That is what you get when you put competent people who are not talking to handle the economy,” he added.
