All eyes on incoming govt

On the back of the electoral victory by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its flag bearer, John Dramani Mahama, four governance experts have reminded the incoming administration of the task ahead (reference Daily Graphic report, December 13, 2024, Page 3).

Rather than sounding like pressure is being mounted on an administration yet to take office, the reminder could well be a statement on the magnitude of the task on hand as the new government inherits a drastic International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme that has distorted a large part of the local economy.

That programme inflicted haircuts on bondholders, wiping away a chunk of their investments in the hitherto safe financial instrument.

Beyond that, there is the need to revive the confidence of the investor community in the local economy through intentional policies to stem the tide of investor flight from the system.

As Prof. Godfred Bokpin of the University of Ghana Business School said: “The President-elect can only demand patience from Ghanaians and not honeymoon. The situation of the citizens has worsened from all the indicators in the last 10 years”.

We acknowledge that the job on hand is a huge one, given the overwhelming endorsement the NDC and President-elect Mahama received at the December 7 elections.

The party pledged in its manifesto to implement a 24-hour Economy policy, remove nuisance taxes, reform the tax regime, improve the free senior high school (SHS) policy, abolish the double track SHS system, and fight corruption, among a string of actionable policies to impact the populace.

All of these come under the broader theory of resetting the country to regenerate the system to give institutions and individuals a new lease of life.

While these are laudable intentions upon which the party received the resounding electoral victory, the likes of Prof. Bokpin, Prof. John Gartchie Gatsi of the University of Cape Coast School of Business, the Director of the Democracy Project, Dr John Osae-Kwapong, and the Head of the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Prof. Seidu Alidu, insist that the weight of expectation on the incoming government requires a line-up of top characters to prosecute the agenda in a four-year term.

As it is with new governments, goodwill from both local sources and international well-wishers is never in short supply. The other side of it is that it places a weight of high expectations on the beneficiary government.

The NDC and President-elect Mahama are not new to the governance terrain: they campaigned on their record against the incumbent's performance across eight years.

The unemployed youth and those preparing to graduate from school are among those who will keenly monitor events.

As Prof. Alidu advised, the incoming government and its appointees must be honest and transparent with the people, stressing the need for the government to introduce social intervention policies that would resonate with the people, given the dire economic situation in the country.

He maintained that the electoral result was the price the outgoing government had to pay for presiding over a high cost-of-living crisis, poverty and policy failures.

“Data available from November 2023 showed that locally produced inflation became higher than imported inflation, indicating a high cost of doing business and there was no cushion anymore because COVID-19 and the debt exchange programme did not only affect the government but households as well,” Prof. Bokpin said.

“When you are outside, there are things you may promise on the campaign platforms, but the situation may be different when you take over,” he added.

Prof. Gatsi, on the other hand, advised the President-elect to deploy the correct approach of experience, understanding and appreciation of the issues at hand to be able to deal with the reality of the situation.

He said there was the need to start flagship programmes such as the 24-hour Economy initiative in the areas that were low-hanging, with the need for high security, and to incentivise the business community.

“The President should not be triggered to start running anyhow, but rather make use of the goodwill Ghanaians have shown to him in tangible support in terms of good governance, quality delivery on infrastructure and food inflation, which is now endemic,” he said.

These should be within range for the incoming President and his team.