Economist, Prof. Mark Assibey-Yeboah has reiterated the need for government to cut down expenditure by not just downsizing its ministers but also ensuring investors have a value for money.
The economist urged government to implement fiscal consolidation measures as part of its efforts to revive the ailing economy and formulate ways of widening the country’s tax net as that is crucial to tackling the current economic crisis.
Speaking on the sidelines of excessive spending during an event held in Accra, Prof. Assibey-Yeboah urged government to cut cost to save the public purse.
“We need to bring our expenditure down and we need to do this because of the rigidity now in our expenditure space. And so one of it is what government is trying to do with the debt restructuring programme; to reduce our interest payments. But this also has issues with compensations; salaries and wages, which remain very high. So we need to find a way of ensuring that we significantly reduce that.
“So if the public sector is over staffed, then we need some kind of rationalization in the public sector by way of cutting down ministers or ensuring that people who do not have direct bearing on the administrative processes are out and all of that because, cutting down expenditure goes beyond that. It also means that ensuring value for money in whatever investment that you are doing; efficiency in your investment processes and re-prioritization.”
Prof. Assibey-Yeboah
Prof. Assibey-Yeboah, moreover, urged government to move away from poorly targeted social protection programmes to a more targeted one that really has impact.
Meanwhile, Dean of University of Cape Coast Business School, Prof. John Gatsi attributed the slow pace of Ghana’s development and current economic woes to the neglect of recommendations from the national development plan designed to guide planning of the country by current and successive governments.
Policy makers urged to change their style of managing the economy
Prof. Gatsi said until policy makers change their style of managing the economy, Ghana will struggle to grow.
“It is very clear that instead of focusing on the National Development Plan to guide the development of the country, it is now going to be political agenda reflected in the manifesto. You know, some of the things reflected in the manifesto are put there because some politicians come from certain areas. It is not necessarily because it is a thought-through programme reflective of national development; why we should cite these projects, why we shouldn’t cite these projects,…”
Prof. Gatsi
Ghanaians seek clarity on government’s policies
As the President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is preparing to deliver the State of the Nation’s address in Parliament today, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, strategists and analysts in the country are appealing to the President to clear up some ambiguities in its policies, most especially, in its Gold-for-Oil Programme, to ensure its success.
“One will expect the government to come clear on the Gold-for-Oil Programme which has seemed not to have any particular blue print. People have asked very relevant questions. When you ask the institutions involved, they direct you to the next institution because they do not have answers…
“We will be very happy to hear Mr. President come clean on what exactly the government is doing with this Gold-for-Oil programme and what Ghanaians should expect; if there are any contractual lines that we need to be made aware of, how we selected people to supply us products… I think the President will be in the best position to speak to these matters that the public and civil society have been asking critical questions of lately.”
Duncan Amoah, CEO of COPEC
READ ALSO: The Idea Of Paying Ex-gratia Every Four Years Is Nauseating- Prof Gyampo
