Managing the pain of price adjustments
We are not in pleasant times at all. Times are rough, as the nation is rocked by hikes in prices of goods and services.
For the past 48 hours, changes have been announced in the prices of products and services that are critical to the growth of the economy.
Operators of transport last Saturday announced a 15-per cent hike in transport fares, citing price differentials in petrol and spare parts resulting from the depreciation of the cedi.
The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) yesterday increased the prices of petrol, gas oil and related products by 23.08 per cent.
There is no doubt that these price adjustments will be received with mixed reactions by members of the public.
With the hike in transport fares coming in the wake of increases in the prices of sachet water and cement, as well as other merchandise and services, the days ahead will certainly be tough.
However, managers of the economy will welcome the move as the right step to meeting production costs and perhaps reducing drastically the subsidies being absorbed by the government.
Over the past days, various explanations have been given as to why the subsidy regime cannot be sustained.
The Chamber of Bulk Oil Distribution Companies has been on the heels of the government for the payment of millions of Ghana cedis owed its members as a result of the subsidies on petroleum products.
At the beginning of the third quarter of the year, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) announced upward adjustments in water and electricity tariffs.
On a more serious note, the action by the government and other players over the weekend are indicators that they are determined to arrest the decline in the economy.
These measures, however, will require more austere measures and sacrifices from the government and the governed.
This is our belief because without the tightening of belts by all citizens, including those in government, the economy risks collapse in the not-too-distant future.
Sometimes actions of the government do not indicate that the economy is at the crossroads and this scenario sends the to the people wrong signals about the true state of the national coffers.
The Daily Graphic thinks the economy requires a paradigm shift, as there are noticeable structural defects in the conduct of public affairs in the country.
That is why we appeal to the government to, as a matter of urgency, come out with the report on the Senchi Forum to direct the path of the economy in the medium term.
The state of the economy is no child’s play. It is a serious matter bordering on the lives of more than 25 million Ghanaians.
Example, they say, is better than precept and leadership is by example. Therefore, members of the government should be seen to be sharing the burden of the economy and society, not only the ordinary people.
We call on the members of the government to go beyond the 10 per cent pay cut to show modesty in their public conduct.
The Akans say, ‘Akyea na emmui’, to wit, the situation can be salvaged.
Our economy can be put back on an even keel but with the proviso that we work hard and cut our coat according to the size of our cloth.
