The Vice President of the
Republic, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, is optimistic that Ghana will this time around
emerge stronger after going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for
support.
Ghana has already begun discussions with the IMF to provide balance-of-payments
support as part of a broader effort to quicken Ghana’s build-back in the face
of challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and, recently, the
Russia-Ukraine crises.
Speaking at the official launch of the Accra Business School’s IT Programmes on
Thursday 14 July 2022, Vice President Bawumia said it will take a lot of hard
work and difficult decisions for Ghana to bounce back.
“With enhanced fiscal discipline and structural reforms to restore debt
sustainability and growth, we should emerge stronger than we have with the
previous 17 IMF programs,” he said.
“But it will take hard work and difficult decisions. With great pride and
personal pleasure, it is good that we are all part of this launch of three new
programmes by the Accra Business School in collaboration with the South East
Technical University.
“It’s a day when the neglect of many decades comes to an eventual end. It’s a
beginning to lay the foundations of strengthened institutions to take up the
challenges of time with an able and apt workforce. It’s a day when a new
beginning is being made by forging a common alliance between the government and
academic leaderships to protect, preserve and promote above all, democracy via
digitalisation.”
Dr. Bawumia stressed that the twin external factors of covid-19 and the war in
Ukraine, which he said, have also led many countries to the IMF for support,
following the rising cost of living and inability to sustain debt levels, have
also exposed the need for Ghana to put in place measures to be more
fiscal-discipline.
"The major lesson of the last two years is that we have to be more
self-reliant as a country," Dr. Bawumia said.
"It is important that we take decisions that will inure to the benefit of
the country regardless of whether we are going to the IMF for a program or not."
"The immediate task is to restore fiscal and debt sustainability – through
revenue and expenditure measures and structural reforms.
Non-concessional borrowing should be curtailed to enhance debt
sustainability," the Vice President added.
Dr. Bawumia also observed that successive governments have failed to achieve
long-term economic stability after each of the past 17 IMF programmes due to
the lack of systems to ensure sustainable stability, hence the government's
focus on ensuring such systems are put in place.
"I should note that Ghana has gone to the IMF for a program 17 times since
independence and after each IMF program, the underlying system and structure of
the economy remained the same," Dr. Bawumia said.
"It is important to note that the focus of economic management by
successive governments since independence in Ghana has been on crisis
management as a result of factors such as the collapse in commodity prices,
increase in oil prices, debt unsustainability, political instability,
macroeconomic instability, etc. Governments, have by and large, not focused on
building systems and institutions that underpin economic activities in a modern
economy."
These modern systems for sustainable economic development, Dr. Bawumia said,
are: "the systems that will reduce bribery and corruption, the systems
that will make the delivery of public services efficient, the systems that will
enhance domestic revenue mobilization, and the systems that will make life
generally easier for Ghanaians."
The Vice President noted that since 2017, government has been focused on
building these systems, which include a biometric national identification card,
a functioning digital property address system and an aggressive financial
inclusion programme, digitization of government services and many others, which
he said, are enhancing services and making access easier, reducing corruption
and strengthening domestic revenue mobilization.
He, therefore, called for a renewed focus on building and strengthening these
systems, alongside enhanced fiscal discipline, to ensure sustainable economic
recovery after the latest, 17th IMF programme.
Source: Peacefmonline.com