Fadi Dabbousi Writes Brave Akufo-Addo Tells it to the World Without Equivocation

Fadi Dabbousi Writes Brave Akufo-Addo Tells it to the World Without Equivocation
By no means is it a small feat to stand before the strong and mighty to tell them in the face that it is time to deviate from the fiscal policies that are derogatory and discriminatory toward the woes of the third world! 
At the 77th Annual General Meeting of the UN Assembly in New York, he made it plain that Africa is suffering the negative effects of an obsolete fiscal system that seems to leech on the African economy as a whole. 
The aftereffects of the covid-19 pandemic exposed the subtly hostile monetary system that the West uses to exact an economic punishment very incongruous with the order of the 21st century! 
The World Bank admitted that the world’s economy was enduring its steepest slowdown since 1970. By 202, it had pushed Africa into the worst recession in 50 years. As we grappled with the situation, the Russian war added to the quagmire. 
A profound statement against the Russian war in Ukraine could not have been stated more boldly. 
He said, “As we grappled with these economic challenges, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine burst upon us, aggravating an already difficult situation.
 It is not just the dismay that we feel at seeing such deliberate devastation of cities and towns in Europe in the year 2022, we are feeling this war directly in our lives in Africa. Every bullet, every bomb, every shell that hits a target in Ukraine, hits our pockets and our economies in Africa.”
Yes, that is a President, who tells it at it is at a time when all other leaders cower from speaking directly into the “Putin Ear”!
Global investors pulled out of the third world economies to invest in the bonds of powerful and rich nations. He told them that the financial markets are against us by all means, and the savageness of the global financial system is making a feast out of our economies here in Africa especially Ghana.
 He continued, “It has become clear, if ever there was any doubt, that the international financial structure is skewed significantly against developing and emerging economies like Ghana. 
The avenues that are opened to powerful nations to enable them take measures that would ease pressures on their economies are closed to small nations. 
To make matters worse, credit rating agencies have been quick to downgrade economies in Africa, making it harder to service our debts. 
The tag of Africa as an investment risk is little more than, in substance, a self-fulfilling prophecy created by the prejudice of the international money market, which denies us access to cheaper borrowing, pushing us deeper into debts.
The financial markets have been set up and operate on rules designed for the benefit of rich and powerful nations, and, during times of crisis, the façade of international co-operation, under which they purport to operate,
 disappears. These are the savage lessons that we have had to take in, as the world emerged from the grip of the coronavirus to energy and food price hikes, and a worldwide rise in the cost of living. The necessity for reform of the system is compelling.
Mr President, I am a modest student of history, and I would say it is doubtful that any generation of inhabitants of this earth has ever witnessed such a perfect storm of global economic chaos, a war with global consequences, and an unwillingness or inability to find a consensus to deal with the catastrophe.”
This is the profound reality that can be described as the bitter truth that many cannot voice. The bitter pill, too, is the derivative of such a poignant moment that we must swallow along with our pride to enable us weather the storm and reach the promised land!
This is the mark of a leader whose legacy we must engrave in the minds of the coming generations such that Ghana will continue to prosper in spite of the challenges that recur as history rolls along in the life of our country. If I had the power, I would make Akufo-Addo the person to celebrate forever!