Finance Ministry requires economist - Prof. Quartey
The government needs at least one experienced economist as part of the team of ministers at the Finance Ministry to provide a fitting blend for a better management of the national economy, the Head of Economics Department of the University of Ghana, Professor Peter Quartey, has suggested.
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“The President must ensure that he appoints a qualified and a well-experienced economist to support his Minister of Finance designate to provide a good blend of economics with the finance and investment banking background of the minister to steer the affairs of the ministry,” Prof. Quartey said.
He made the suggestion after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo nominated one of the country’s finest investment bankers, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, as the minister-designate for the Ministry of Finance.
“Mr Ofori-Atta is an affable and qualified investment banker with unquestionable experience and track record in his area of expertise; his background is rich and that puts him in a good stead to successfully steer the affairs of the ministry. However, he needs that backing from an economist,” the economic researcher and university don said.
The former Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terpker, and his deputies, who ran the ministry in the last four years, came from accounting and finance backgrounds.
Prof. Quartey explained that the cognitive appreciation of an economist was substantially different from their counterparts in other professions such as finance and that the appointment of a qualified economist within the political executive team of the finance ministry was crucial for managing an economy yearning for sustainable growth.
Challenges
One of the major challenges Prof. Quartey anticipates Mr Ofori-Atta will be confronted with will be how he breaks through the bureaucracy within the public sector to achieve results at a pace akin to the private sector and commensurate with the intentions of the President.
“He has been with the private sector for a greater part of his working life and will be faced with the stark bureaucracy of the public sector which can be quiet slow,” he said, adding that “once he is able to break through that, all will be well.”
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Another challenge the incoming minister of finance would face, according to Prof. Quartey, was the fiscal imbalances in the economy where expenditure outstrips revenue.
This scenario has forced the country to borrow at expensive rates to fund the budget.
On assurances by the President to reduce taxes to allow the private sector more space to operate and drive the economy on the path of growth.
Prof. Quartey said: “Reducing taxes is a good idea but this should be done in a manner that will allow more revenue to be generated. The tax cuts should be able to stimulate the private sector to produce more and that will help the country to generate more revenue to cover up the losses made in the first place”.
Professor Quartey raised issues about expenditure which the minister designate would have to face should he be approved by Parliament.
“There will be no reason why you should raise more revenue through pragmatic policy measures and allowing the money to dissipate through other means,” he said.
Professor Quartey said once this hurdle is surmounted by working to actualise the promise made by the President to protect the public purse by ensuring value for money, the Finance Minister should be fine to have enough to run the economy.
Rumour
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports suggest that Dr Mark Osei-Assibey, a Member of Parliament and an economist, will be one of the personalities shortlisted to assist Mr Ofori-Atta as one of the deputies.