Former Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Professor Emeritus Stephen Adei, has intimated that the government’s measures to get the country out of the current economic hardship are insufficient.
According to Prof Adei, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo failed to announce measures that would give hope and take the country out of the current economic situation.
In a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, the ex-NDPC chairman said that if he were the president, he would immediately review some of the government’s flagship policies, including the Free SHS policy, and cut down the size of the government drastically.
“There is something we call leadership communication… I think that the fact that the president has not reshuffled his government up to now is not good. It is not good for him, for the perception of the government being more of a state capture.
“Even if the minister of finance has to go, it should not be let the minister of finance go and let somebody replace him. There must be clear restructuring. If I were president, I would give Ghanaians a Christmas package. And that will be concluding the IMF one (negotiations) via change in my government, bringing down the numbers of ministers and everything.
“Mahama was talking about 60 or 65 (ministers); I think that Ghana can be ruled by 40 ministers, then you are showing that you are serious about the challenges,” he said.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, during his address on Sunday, admitted that times are hard economically and that his government is working assiduously to provide relief to the citizenry.
He stressed in an address on the economy that his administration was ready to work towards restoring and resetting the economy on the path of progress and stability.
These views were contained in his October 30, 2022, address to the nation on the state of the economy.
“For us, in Ghana, our reality is that our economy is in great difficulty. The budget drawn for the 2022 fiscal year has been thrown out of gear, disrupting our balance of payments and debt sustainability, and further exposing the structural weaknesses of our economy.
“We are in a crisis; I do not exaggerate when I say so. I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent forces have come together at the same time,” he added.
“But, as we have shown in other circumstances, we shall turn this crisis into an opportunity to resolve not just the short-term, urgent problems but the long-term structural problems that have bedevilled our economy.
“I urge us all to see the decision to go to the International Monetary Fund in this light,” he stressed.
Source: Ghanaweb