Editorial: Mid-year review of budget should give hope for better future
The economy has gone through turbulence in the past, mainly caused by over-spending in election years, revenue shortfalls, abuse of the public purse by a section of public servants, an increase in public sector wage bills and other fiscal challenges.
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However, there are visible signs of economic recovery, which give hope for the medium-term prospect.
Our confidence has been boosted by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) endorsement of our home-grown programmes, the resumption of aid by development partners and the development of gas fields, all part of the medium-term prospects.
Needless to say, we saw a sharp decline of more than 26 per cent in the value of the cedi at the beginning of the year, but the sharp intervention by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) saw a recovery of more than 23 per cent in the value of the national currency.
But just when there appeared light at the end of the tunnel, the cedi suffered in value against the major currencies.
However, efforts by the BoG in pumping $20 million into the economy daily have again stabilised the cedi against the dollar and other currencies.
At the end of June this year the cedi was trading at about GH¢4.50 against the dollar.
This, indeed, should give us hope that the medium-term prospect is not bleak but very bright.
The Daily Graphic thinks that this is not the time for celebration but stock taking of what went wrong and what worked against us.
It is also a time for reflection by the managers of the economy on how aid from development partners was utilised in the past.
The Daily Graphic dare say that if all our gains in the past had been invested in productive ventures, we would not have faced these economic challenges.
We also caution the authorities that never again should we go through these challenges after we have overcome the difficulties.
The Daily Graphic again pleads with the authorities to invest these inflows into the productive sectors of the economy, so that we can get the best returns.
We also urge the people who do not have much hope in the economy to give it another chance, so that together we can bring our collective views to shore it up.
In spite of the positive outlook, all our efforts will come to naught if we do not step up our productive activities.
Our local industries are suffering from unfettered competition rising out of the high cost of production exacerbated by the unending power crisis (dumsor palaver).
Furthermore, if we do not stop the importation of every conceivable item on earth, when even local capacity exists, the cedi cannot stand against the major currencies, regardless of the inflows.