Outcome of the Senchi Economic Forum
It is heartwarming to know that the government wishes to engage with all Ghanaians in an effort to find lasting solutions to our seemingly intractable economic problems.
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I wish we had started this debate 20 years ago soon after we returned to constitutional rule but we appeared to be more concerned with insisting on our rights than accepting the responsibilities that would lead to our economic wellbeing.
In any case, it is probably not too late to get back on the right track despite the loss of valuable time.
I wish to comment on some of the major points agreed on at the forum and give my humble comments/contribution as an ordinary concerned citizen.
Since the organisers have not provided an address to which contributions from the public can be channelled I have decided to use the print media.
Long term national development framework
The forum hit the nail on the head on this issue. For whatever reason, for over 20 years, we have neglected to do the obvious thing that would have ensured smooth, orderly and accelerated development: The Evolution of a national development plan.
With a development plan in place, we would have been talking about where we are with respect to the plan rather than what we now want to do. Some of us, including the late P. V. Obeng, have screamed loudly for this to happen to no avail.
Now that the forum has also endorsed this approach, I hope we will move without delay towards evolving a plan that is owned by Ghanaians. If this is not done properly, it would suffer the same fate as ‘Vision 2020’ and the ‘Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategies’, ignored by the governments that did not create them.
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To evolve a party-proof plan, we must involve all Ghanaians in its development. We should solicit inputs from the communities which should flow to the districts.
From the districts they should be evaluated and collated by the regions and sent to the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) for further evaluation and addition to projects of national interest. After the projects have been evaluated and aligned, the NDPC should hold fora in the communities and districts from where they originated for further discussion and acceptance before they go to Cabinet and Parliament for discussion of prioritisation.
If this simple process is followed, it would be difficult for any government to ignore the plan because it is owned by Ghanaians and not any political party.
Different governments might evolve their own methods of achieving the development targets set but they have to report to Ghanaians regularly on where they are with respect to the plan.
Nation first
In any progressive nation with strong patriotism, the national interest supersedes all other interests. It is not so in Ghana. In this country the prioritisation is: Self first, family second and the nation and place of work can go to hell. This is an attitudinal problem that needs a sustained educational campaign to correct.
Indigenous Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship training in our schools should be a priority, next to science and technology. It would empower our youth to recognise the enormous opportunities available in transforming our vast natural resources into wealth. We also have to look inward to spot local entrepreneurs with potential and groom them into multinationals to support our economy. If they have to be supported initially with government funding, we should not hesitate to do so.
As for completing projects started by previous governments, it should be a no brainer. There is no reason taxpayers’ money should go to waste simply because the country’s administration changed hands.
Efficiency in the public service
From the government’s own assessment, the performance of our public service is less than satisfactory. Many of us who deal with the service regularly would probably agree. If some of them would turn around to sabotage government projects, then we have a serious problem. However, if we use project management techniques, it should be easy to identify saboteurs early and deal with them before they cause damage.
If you have tried to make an investment in this country you would understand why it was necessary to bring this up at the forum. Before your investment can be up and running you have to go through a myriad of regulations and agencies. Many of the officials who man these agencies, instead of facilitating your investment, rather frustrate you in order to get you to part with bribes. I believe we have lost more than 80 per cent of our potential investments because of this behaviour. It goes back to the issue of some public servants sabotaging the country’s progress. If there should be any bribe payment, it should be the other way round. We should be wooing investors to bring their investments here.
Support small-medium enterprises (SME)
Most businesses in Ghana are of this category, as we do not own any big multinational companies. However, if you are in this category, you would also know that it is almost impossible to get bank credit to support your business, especially in the last year-and-a-half. Consequently, many have folded up or scaled down and added to the unemployment situation. Our economic progress and job creation depends on the performance of this category and must be supported.
Recent Foreign Exchange Measures
As some of us pointed out when these foriegn exchange measures were introduced, their impact on stabilizing the cedi, if any, would at best be temporary.
As we speak, the fortunes of the cedi have not improved. Meanwhile, the damage done to forex inflows as a result of the restrictions on foreign exchange deposits will be felt for a long time to come. Immediate damage control is imperative to restore confidence.
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Energy crisis
If there were a national development plan in place, we would probably not have had the energy crisis in the first place. We would have had a programme to add capacity along the way, commensurate with the growth of our energy demand.
In addition to hydro we must look seriously at investing in other renewable energy sources where the potential exists, particularly solar and wind.
Revamping the manufacturing and agricultural sectors
We have known all along that our path to economic prosperity lies in focusing on these two areas. Unfortunately, we have continually paid lip service to embarking on this journey while we continue to pay dearly for others to provide our needs of food and manufactured goods. I hope that this time we shall walk the talk. We need a national development plan that has these two areas as its main pillars.
E-mail: norbenne1@yahoo.com
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