Despite the assurances of government that the economy will bounce back stronger in no time, Analyst David Ofosu-Dorte, the Executive Chairman of AB & David Law Company believes otherwise.

According to Mr. Ofosu-Dorte, there is no hope for economic recovery this year considering the extent of the damage done to the economy.

Mr. Ofosu-Dorte who was speaking on Accra-based Citi TV on Monday, February 20th, 2023 explained that even the ongoing Domestic Debt Restructuring Program has negatively impacted the confidence in the country’s financial sector which will take time to rebound.

He further indicated that the debt restructuring program means that many companies will not have access to financial support to expand more especially those in the banking sector. Having said this, he revealed that Ghanaians should brace themselves for downsizing and lay-offs as many organization will be cash-strapped.

“I mean, a lot of organizations who will not have access to money to expand including those in the banking sector who have had the payments of their bonds deferred in the debt exchange will downsize. So expect a lot of lay-offs and tougher times”, the Executive Chairman of AB & David Law Company said.

He however, stressed that the expectant difficulties cannot be solely blamed on the IMF conditionalities but partly due to the current lack of confidence in the financial sector. According to the analyst, research has proven that there is an increasing trend in the purchase of money boxes and safes indicating that people are now choosing to keep their monies from the banks.

“But this time, the tougher times will not be because of IMF conditionalities. It is the reality of the situation. The financial sector will suffer more because people will keep money outside the banks. People will keep money under the bed at home, in forex or in properties like real estate. Now, there is a trend of increasing purchases in safes and the price has even gone up so it means people are keeping their own money”, he stressed.