Ghana’s Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has called for stronger institutions, ethical leadership, and competent market players as Ghana and other emerging economies navigate growing global economic uncertainty.
Speaking at the 2026 ACI World Congress in Accra on Friday, May 22, the Vice President said sustainable economic growth cannot be achieved without building credible and resilient markets grounded in trust and professionalism.
“We cannot build strong economies on weak markets. Resilient markets cannot be built without trust, and trust cannot exist without competence, ethics, and robust institutions,” she stated.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang stressed that strengthening markets requires deliberate investment in people, institutions and regulatory systems that support transparency, accountability and long-term economic stability.
“To elevate markets, we must empower people who build, regulate, participate and depend on them,” she added.
Her remarks come at a time when many economies continue to grapple with the lingering effects of global inflation, rising interest rates, debt pressures and geopolitical instability.
According to the Vice President, the world remains under pressure from multiple economic and structural shocks, many of which continue to hit emerging and frontier economies hardest.
“The world is still adjusting to the aftershocks of inflation, higher interest rates, sovereign debt pressures, geopolitical tensions, climate risk, supply chain shifts, rapid technological disruption — the list is endless,” she said.
She noted that for developing economies, these global disruptions have direct consequences on exchange rates, fiscal planning, trade financing, debt sustainability and investment flows.
“For emerging and frontier markets, these changes affect exchange rates, fiscal planning, trade finance, portfolio flows, debt sustainability and the cost of capital,” she explained.
The Vice President further warned that the effects go beyond macroeconomic indicators, impacting businesses, government operations and household livelihoods.
“They shape business investment capacities, government planning and the ability of households to live with dignity,” she said.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang’s address focused heavily on the need for resilient financial systems and credible institutions capable of supporting economic growth amid an increasingly volatile global environment.
