Presently, the government is ‘indebted’ to many organisations and individuals for contracts they have executed for the state.
Those the state is indebted to include road contractors, suppliers to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and some public sector workers.
The government is complaining about the huge wage bill that is responsible for the downgrading of our credit rating by Fitch, an international rating agency.
Last Thursday, Fitch downgraded Ghana from a B+ to a B, largely due to the country’s handling of its wage bill. Ghana was put on a B+ (negative) outlook in February this year.
The government has not been very comfortable with the downgrading of the country by Fitch. The Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terkper, has described the move by Fitch as very harsh and totally uncalled for.
According to him, the country was implementing various restructuring programmes which involved the periodic adjustment of petroleum and utility prices to bring sanity into the economy, while at the same time shoring up government revenue.
The wage bill has been ‘swallowing’ virtually every revenue that is mobilised since the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) and the bill is expected to rise further.
A deputy Minister of Information and Media Relations, Mr Felix Ofosu Kwakye, speaking at the ongoing the Policy Fair, said the wage bill of GH¢9 billion per annum would increase to GHc11 billion by the close of the year.
The use of the rising wage bill as an excuse for our economic woes has been dismissed by a section of society, including organised labour, which has demanded a full disclosure of the salaries of government appointees and functionaries, including Article 71 office holders, arguing that that category of public sector workers has bloated the wage bill.
The crux of the matter is that our economy is not growing at a rate to promote the well-being of all.
Frankly, if about 70 per cent of national revenue is used to pay the salaries of less than a million of the 25-million population, then that is unfair.
Our present economic predicament should not be business or politics as usual.
We know that party politics is a contest of ideas and ideologies, with each side trying to convince voters that it has better plans for the country.
The Daily Graphic calls on the government to seek the cooperation of all stakeholders in its efforts at putting the economy on an even keel.
We also call on all interest groups to seek the interest of the country in their demands for improved services and facilities.
The contest for power must also be carried out in such a way as not to distract the attention of the government away from its agenda.
There is no doubt that the country is at the crossroads, with many challenges facing the people that must be resolved as soon as possible if we are to reap the benefits of our middle-income status.
It is within our power to reverse the downward decline in the economy. This can be done through hard work, transparency and accountability in the management of our resources.
