3 wise men storm Citi Cedi Summit

The Citi Business Festival’s Cedi Summit has lined up three speakers of repute in the world of banking, economics and law.

The June 27 event at the Alisa Hotel will be headlined by Jeff Gable, the Head of Research and Chief Economist at ABSA; Prof. Peter Quartey, the Director of the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and David Ofosu-Dorte, a Senior Partner AB & David Law Firm.

Also serving as panellists for the one-day Economic Summit being organised by Citi TV are Humphrey Ayim Dake, the President of the Association of Ghana Industries, Dr. Yaw Ansu, an advisor to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Maxwell Opoku Afari, 1st Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ama Pokua Fenny, Economist & Senior Research Fellow at ISSER and Abena Osei-Poku, the Managing Director at ABSA.

The Cedi Summit is being organised in partnership with the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and ABSA Bank Ghana, as part of the 2022 Citi Business Festival.

What the summit aims to do is put global developments in their proper perspective by discussing the effects of these global developments on economies and economic actors, analysing the various policy response options open to governments and examining the feasibility and implications of possible solutions for African economies and the Ghanaian economy in particular.

The Global Economy is facing the prospect of a recession precipitated by post-Covid-19 recovery threats, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the threat of Covid-19 lockdowns in China.

This has led to the World Bank cutting its projected growth of the world economy by nearly a percentage point to 3.2%

The grim outlook for the world economy has been further exacerbated by rising food prices, rising fuel cost and higher fertilizer prices, leading to a high inflation environment for most countries.

Some African countries and emerging markets have not been spared these developments as they face economic shocks, with growth prospects likely to decline to 3.8% in 2022, according to the 2022 African Economic Outlook.

There have been diverse responses from policymakers as they scramble to come up with the right policy responses to deal with the crises.

Some central banks, like those of Ghana and Nigeria, have tried to tame inflationary pressures by raising interest rates, while agriculture ministries in Ghana and Uganda have imposed cereal export bans, and some others like Kenya have removed tariffs on imported grain.

The summit will delve into how well these policy actions work, and to what extent they can protect these economies from further deterioration.