The Former Director General and Rector of GIMPA, Prof. Emeritus Stephen Adei, has challenged policy makers and those in power to adopt pragmatic measures aim at reviving the economy than engaging in paracetamol solutions that have short term effect on the country.
According to him, anytime the Bank of Ghana increases the interest rate, what it means is that the banks are not going to lend to the real sector anymore but for the government because of risk and the banks will end up creating huge profit without supporting the private sector which is the engine of growth.
Prof. Adei made these statements during the maiden edition of the Financial Economy Seminar-Ghana 2022 (FES) under the theme ‘Identifying and Redefining the Economic Fundamental of Developing Countries; Anomalies and Challenges,’ where he advised policy makers to look for solutions that are long-term and has the potential to change the fortunes of the country.
He acknowledged that because of the hardship the country has find itself into, has calls for reactions from many Ghanaians such as fix the country, fixing the country, Arise Ghana and many other whose comments are treasonable “but let me say that most of the professed or suggested solutions by pressure groups will take Ghana nowhere.”
“It will only bring social unrest because Ghana cannot afford to revisit the 1973 and 1983 days under the so called ‘lost decade of Ghana’ where real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capital fell by 40% but it is unfortunate many Ghanaians have short memories,” he stated.
He added that those Ghanaians championing for the reversal of e-levy, reducing of petrol prices, termination of the Agyapa Deal and the reverse of the Executive Instrument about Achimota Forest will not change the situation but rather Ghana need real serious measures.
“What Ghana can do now is for the faith-based people to pray that there won’t be surge of Covid-19 cases globally, that Russia-Ukraine war will cease, the country will record bumper harvest this year and the nation must tackle corruption forcefully and determinedly to extend that the Special Prosecutor will have a huge task of bringing both past and present appointees to answer for their corrupt deals.
On his part, the brainchild of FES and Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Stephen Amoah, said it is time government and policy markers adopt a new improved method of ensuring that banks henceforth will lend to the private sector which is the engine of growth of the economy than the government because of less risk.
He said the trend of banks lending their monies to government who doesn’t produce much of the items consumed locally but the private sector which needed the money to produce these items are not getting them because of high risk, what it means is that the sector will continue to dwindle.
“Government does do import and export for commercial gains or produce goods and service so if the government is the one getting all the monies, then we cannot continue to live in this jeopardize society of ours that is why there is a need as policy makers to rethink and look at the economic fundamental,” he stated.
Dr. Amoah said the cause of graduate unemployment is as a results of industry players under performing their bench mark value to the extend that interest rate continue to soar, high cost of doing business and “we need to fix this.”
He therefore called on the financial managers to first understand the problem and adopt a-tailored made solutions to curb the current economic woes the country is going through.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Council, Mr. Yaw Amoateng Afriyie said by 2050 Africa will have quarter of the world population with approximately 850 million mainly youth.
He said Ghana’s access to external capital market is limited and only 21 African countries have access to capital market meaning that African countries are suffering to have access to capital market because of weak fundamentals and therefore cannot compete with their counterparts across Europe who have good and sound economic fundamentals.
Mr. Afriyie therefore called for policy direction geared towards attaining financial inclusion in Africa in other to add value to exports.
