Govt, private sector dialogue key to solving challenges - Prince Mba
The President of the Forum of Equity, a human rights civil society organisation (CSO), Prince Bagnaba Mba, has called for a crunch meeting between the government and management executives of blue chip companies to prepare a road map on how to help stabilise the economy and lessen the burden on the citizenry.
He said discussions with the chief executive officers (CEOs) and managing directors of companies in the Ghana Club 100 ranking must centre on how the business executives, whose institutions control the biggest chunk of the economy, could contribute solutions and finance to address the challenges facing the nation.
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The entrepreneur and veteran politician said the weight of the current challenges required every sector of society to sacrifice a little to help revert the economy back to stability.
Courtesy call
Mr Mba gave the advice during a courtesy call on the Editor, Graphic, Kobby Asmah, in his office in Accra last Wednesday.
The visit enabled Mr Mba to share his views on current developments in the country and proffer solutions.
The discussions centred on the economic challenges, including the depreciation of the cedi and surging inflation, the role of the private sector in addressing the challenges and the need to revive patriotism among the citizenry.
They also touched on the import-dependence nature of the economy and increased investment in agriculture to feed light manufacturing industries to help strengthen the economy.
Mr Mba described the Daily Graphic as the arrowhead of information and policy dissemination, noting that the newspaper’s credibility over the years had made it a power tool in national development.
Commendation
While noting that the current challenges were biting, Mr Mba, nevertheless, commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his show of leadership in the difficulties and encouraged him and his team not to despair, as the current problems would soon pass.
“What we are facing is temporary, but we have to address them, so that they do not fester. I have faith in the leadership because they have addressed similar challenges in the past and they have even ensured that although insurgency is ripe in the West African sub-region, it does not filter into Ghana. These challenges too will be addressed,” he said.
Imports
Mr Mba noted that majority of the problems facing the economy could be traced to the import-dependent nature of the country.
He said it was sad and hurting that almost everything, from food to toothpick, was imported, resulting in increased demand for foreign currencies, to the detriment of the national currency, the cedi.
He said while the Planting for Food and Jobs and its related programmes were fantastic, they had been inundated with challenges that limited their effectiveness.
Resettlement farms
To help halt that, the President of the Forum of Equity said the country should promote regional resettlement farms across all the 16 regions.
He explained that such farms should be made available to young graduates who would be supported with low-cost funds to procure tractors and other implements for farming in the hinterlands.
Mr Mba said the farms should then be linked to light factories in the city centres as sources for raw materials for the production of most of the fruit juices and other food products that were currently imported.
He was optimistic that the initiative, when implemented, would be revolutionary in the agricultural space, as it would provide jobs, improve incomes, as well as food and raw materials for light manufacturing.
Food for thought
Responding, Mr Asmah commended Mr Mba for the visit and for giving him “food for thought”.
He said Mr Mba’s perspective on national issues were an eye opener and further expressed the hope that its dissemination would lead to further discussions on how to reform the economy and make it sustainably resilient.
He said he was optimistic that the suggestions would prick the national psyche and trigger a conversation towards progress for all.