I PITY WHOEVER WILL TAKEOVER GHANA’S ECONOMY – Bernard Avle

“Whoever takes over the economy, I pity them because there are a lot of challenges. I mean, look at the finances; I gave you interest rates of eight countries, the central bank’s main lending rate. Countries are doing 8, 14; Nigeria’s 19 is almost unheard of. You are doing 30 comfortably; how do you do any business with 30% interest? It doesn’t make sense.”

He stressed that interest rates are still high, which has an immediate effect on financing accessibility even in the face of declining inflation. Avle observed that because of the burdensome interest rates, both individuals and institutions were reluctant to apply for loans.

“People are not even going to the financial institutions for loans; they can’t pay. Most people who start their own companies are avoiding debts because they can’t pay for it,” he warned that failure to address this financial predicament could lead to foreign entities taking control of local producers.

Avle further raised concerns about the limited local benefit derived from the private sector, stating, “Most of the private sector does not invest in the country. It just benefits the people who own the companies, and most of them are not even invested here. We need to crack that issue.”