Burning Issues Economic demands and pressure on the national kitty

Various demands come from various sectors of the economy and these demands cannot be overlooked since they are all important towards the developmental agenda of the country as well as helping to improve upon the general welfare of the people.

Such intricate and various demands look justified but in terms of the national kitty, one may wonder whether all such demands can be met with the limited resources available in the country. This explains why economists express the view that the wants of man are unlimited but the resources to satisfy them are very limited.

This position adopted by economists is very true wherever we find ourselves in any part of the world. In comparative terms, the US may have more resources than each of the countries in the developing world. The same rule applies to Canada, Japan, Germany and other rich countries but once again the general rule is that in terms of humans, resources are limited so we cannot satisfy all our needs at the same time.

JUDICIOUS USE OF RESOURCES

This explains why we have to make judicious use of available resources for all competing demands in this country so that only the most important demands can be satisfied at the same time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted negatively on the economies of countries the world over making it difficult for both rich and poor nations to attend to the needs of their respective citizens. As a result of the inability to meet all these demands, there could be uproar and disorderliness, creating needless tension in society.

SEEMINGLY JUSTIFIED DEMANDS

Many a time, each group of people may think that their demand or request is more important than any other thing in society for which reason all resources must be used to satisfy such demand even to the neglect of other equally important ones.

In the educational sector in Ghana for example, teachers across various levels are crying for better salaries and better conditions of service. Various teacher unions such as NAGRAT, GNAT and many others are always putting forward their request for better conditions of service.

Apart from this, there may be the need to build more infrastructure and other facilities for Primary, Senior High Schools as well as Technical and Vocational Institutions. Similarly, there may be the need to supply such schools with equipment for their vocational and technical training and also laboratory work when it comes to the senior high schools.

DEMANDS OF TEACHERS

In the same way, teachers at the higher levels, that is the universities, are also calling for better conditions of service to the dismay of certain sections of the world that may see such strikes as strange. All this puts tremendous pressure on the national kitty which does not have enough resources to satisfy all the demands.

Within the health sector, many villages and towns are still in need of clinics and hospitals as well as health laboratories and equipment to address the health needs of the people. It is for this reason that the Akufo-Addo led government has come up with Agenda 111 which is a programme aimed at setting up a number of hospitals at the district and regional levels, all totalling 111.

IMPROVEMENT

If all these are provided, they will go to improve upon the health needs of the people in the country. In addition, government is expected to find money to bring in drugs which will be used to cater for the same health needs of the people.

When we come to the area of water and sanitation, we will need millions of Ghana Cedis to expand the system for water supply so that people can get good drinking water to keep away from needless diseases. What a world!

In the area of agriculture, we need huge investments for fertiliser to be able to produce abundant food stock to feed the people. In the same way, agricultural implements and facilities are required to facilitate agricultural production in various levels and also to promote agribusiness to make life better for everyone.

RELIABLE ENERGY SECTOR

The energy sector cannot be left out. Indeed, without a reliable or dependable energy sector, the economy cannot grow as expected. It is for this reason that we do not have to joke with the energy sector, making sure that there is always enough energy to propel factories and other business entities to operate.

Again in the area of tourism, huge sums of money are needed to open up the country for tourism purposes. Both domestic and international tourism are important but without developing tourist sites in the country, it will be difficult for us to promote tourism whether at the national or international level.

ACCIDENTS

In addition to all these, accidents are bound to happen which may also require emergency donations from unplanned sources to satisfy our human needs. A good example is the recent Appiatse disaster which led to loss of lives and property. For this reason, the nation is organising donations to rebuild the community of Appiatse.

All these are indications and development of the pressure on the national kitty. Together, they are unbearable. If it is unbearable, then we need to be reasonable in our demands and give the government some time to plan well to satisfy the needs of everyone. It is equally important for the state to be more productive in its business organisation to be able to generate more revenue to satisfy all the demands.

SYSTEM OF TAXATION

At the same time, the system of taxation must be looked at again so that more people can be brought into the tax bracket. In all these, we also need to use technology to bring some improvement into the tax payment system so that corrupt practices can be minimised if not totally eliminated.

These measures are good but it will take a much longer time to bring all of them into fruition so that the national kitty will be filled with more money to address the national needs of everyone in the country. If this can be done, it will help the country as a whole and reduce the high tensions that characterise social relations and interactions.

POUND OF FLESH

No matter how one looks at it, people with varied demands from various sectors of the economy, though justified in their demands, must be reasonable and tolerant instead of demanding their full pound of flesh from the national kitty. Even if they get their full pound of flesh, other people in other sectors of the economy will also place higher demands on them and in no time compel them to deplete the money at their disposal. Such demands may come from mechanics and health sectors and many other areas that may also see the need to demand their own pound of flesh.

It is, therefore, more reasonable for each and every individual or groups of people to be more tolerant and kind to one another so that, step by step, the various competing needs of everyone in the country will be addressed even if slowly, for everyone to be happy.

VERY DIFFICULT TIMES

We are in very difficult times so no matter how justified we may think we are in our demands, we would have to agree to care for each and every person in the country by being a bit more tolerant, knowing that others are also depending on the national kitty for their survival.

Contact email/whatsApp address of author:

Pradmat2013@gmail.com (0553318911)

BY DR. KOFI AMPONSAH-BEDIAKO