Putting economy on an even footing

The Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terkper, yesterday presented the health of the national economy to Parliament in the form of the Mid-Year Review of the 2014 Budget and Financial Statement.

At the time the minister was presenting the statement to Parliament on behalf of the President, the President, Mr John Dramani Mahama was in Kumasi explaining the rationale behind some of the harsh decisions his government had taken in the last few days.

He told the National House of Chiefs that he approved the harsh but strong economic decisions to save the country from collapse.

Mr Terkper told Parliament that the economy was not in crisis but that it was still the envy of many people on the continent.

Our Finance Minister quoted extensive economic indicators and figures to demonstrate why the Ghanaian economy was still resilient.

Be that as it may, we ought to acknowledge that with the depreciation of the cedi, inadequate donor inflows, upward adjustments in utilities and high interest rates, the direction of the economy on a stable path will be full of landmines.

We should be critical of government policies and programmes, but we should not be cynical and pessimistic, as all cannot be lost yet if we all put our shoulders to the wheel.

The economy may not be on the brink of collapse yet, although there are many challenges facing the various sectors of the development process.

The Daily Graphic notes that it is not enough to dwell on figures, statistics and physical development to conclude that the economy is on the right path of recovery.

Development theorists would posit that it is not just enough to dwell on statistics but also how these figures have helped to transform the lives of the people.

After all, development and economic success are measured by their positive effects on the people, for development is about the well-being of the people.

Organised labour has started beating war drums over the increases in the prices of petroleum products and more of such concerns will come up in subsequent days as more hardships stare the people in their faces.

The Daily Graphic, however, believes that there is hope for Ghana if we work harder, sacrifice and cut our coat according to the size of our cloth.

The conversation for economic renaissance will be meaningful if our leaders demonstrate good faith in the management of public resources.

Let us have self-belief that Ghana holds great promise for everybody if we rally behind our leaders to carry out their mandate, while at the same time the leaders execute their mandate in a more open, transparent and accountable manner.

Every pesewa matters in our present scheme of things in order to salvage the economy from the doldrums.