Baah-Wiredu Memorial Lecture Held

The Director of the Institute of Statistics, Social and Economic Research, Prof Ernest Aryeetey, has indicated that the adjustment of the country's expenditure shall be done in a manner that does not compromise future economic growth yesterday.

According to him, emerging economies will continue to face depression if appropriate packages are not put in place.

Prof Aryeetey was speaking at the maiden Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu Memorial Lecture held in Accra.

The Lecture, jointly organised by the World Bank and the Institute of Finance and Economic Journalism, dubbed, 'Budget 2009 and the challenges of the Global Economy.'

Prof Aryeetey emphasised that it is crucial to enhance the quality of Public expenditure than reducing expenditures. He added that social protection shall not be abandoned.

Touching on the Global Economic Down-turn, he opined that many more households will suffer as a result of the crisis, hence the need for Government to stay focused on the long term issues whilst being mindful of the immediate needs of the country.

To this end, he urged government to position Ghana for a future leadership role in the global market.

In a presentation, a lecturer at the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana, Fritz Gockel, said, the slow development of the advanced countries adversely affects developing countries such as Ghana.

He added that although the country has not been directly hit by the global economic down-turn, it is still faced with major economic challenges

He emphasised the need for the country to learn from the regulatory and policy mistakes of the industrialised countries.

The Director of Budget at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Kwabena Adjei Mensah on his part revealed move by government to cut expenditure to about GH¢582million which will have otherwise gone waste.