Management of economy on course

Last Wednesday, a cross-section of Ghanaians told the DAILY GRAPHIC that 2013 held bright prospects, in spite of the fact that we have ventured into the unknown.

This feeling of optimism is being expressed against the background that the NDC administration took office at a time of economic instability. Inflation was about 18 per cent, while the value of the cedi had dropped against all the major currencies and interest rates were prohibitive.

In 2011, the country chalked up 14.4 per cent GDP growth, the highest in the world. Presently the government has gone through all the presentations for the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) for public sector workers.

The government’s three-year bond has been over-subscribed and the coupon rates are dropping very fast, indicating appreciation of the values of the bond.

And since January 2010, inflation has gone below the single digit, with the November 2012 rate being 9.3 per cent. The expectation was that the December rate would go below nine per cent  because the non-food index was declining.

The value of the cedi has been appreciating for some time now, despite the pressure on our currency during the Christmas festivities and election uncertainties. Petrol prices have also remained at manageable levels because of the present policy to hedge since October 2010.

The achievement of macro-economic stability, according to some captains of industry and business, has stifled economic growth and they argue that the government should target growth, instead of a reduction in inflation rates.

The DAILY GRAPHIC thinks that it is not a bad policy for the government to target efforts at the reduction of inflation. For, in an environment where inflation is very high, businesses and industrialists cannot put in place strategies to increase productivity. Uncontrolled inflation stifles productive activities.

We believe that the government has done its best to put the economy on track, although there is room for improvement. Salaried workers in the public sector are better off, thanks to the SSSS but other workers are still struggling to make ends meet with their incomes.

The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on the government to work hard to end the phenomenon of graduate unemployment by introducing more initiatives to create jobs and self-employment opportunities.

We know that there are some government obligations, such as payment to contractors that are yet to be fulfilled, but the austere measures introduced by the government, led by the economic management team, are yielding fruitful results.

The DAILY GRAPHIC, however, makes a plea to the government and its functionaries who continue to call on the people to sacrifice for a better tomorrow to demonstrate by example that they share in the burden of the nation.

We  also call on the government to focus on the productive sectors in its next mandate, so that the country can break away from its over-reliance on imported items, including tooth pick and second-hand items.

Our over-reliance on imported items only inure to the benefit of foreign economies, while the local economy is on its knees. Local industries have collapsed and agriculture remains unattractive to the youth.

The government can make agriculture attractive by first opening up the rural areas and providing incentives to encourage the youth to take to the land to produce to feed the nation and for export.

The economic stability that has been achieved will reflect in the pockets of everybody if we are able to put food on the market at affordable prices.

Just as the economic management team at the Ministry of Finance and Economic  Planning has been able to hold inflation and exchange rates at manageable levels, it should introduce strategies to revive agriculture and industrial activities.

The DAILY GRAPHIC commends Dr Kwabena Duffour and his team for a good work done in the past four years. In spite of the difficult times in the country, we must give praise where it is due.

Now that names are dropping on the President-elect’s table for the next Finance Minister, we hope Dr Duffour’s good work will give him a head start in the race.

We pray for more of such pragmatic policies in the next four years of the Mahama administration to accelerate the better Ghana agenda.

But that will depend on hard work and sacrifice.