Features
Economic Performance: Some Indicators
• Much work has to be done in all sectors of the economy to establish a
strong base for rapid growth
The economic performance of every country, whether sound or unsound, depends on a number of factors which may indicate whether the economy concerned is resilient or fragile.
An economy may be very strong or resilient and will be able to withstand unfavourable pressures from external sources. In the same way, a very weak economy may not be able to withstand pressures from unfavourable external conditions.
Similarly, an economy with an average performance may be able to withstand some shocks coming from both internal and external sources but at the same time, able to lay a strong foundation that can stimulate growth in the economy in the coming years. Such an economy may not be described as very resilient but will be seen as strong enough to generate adequate growth and on the average show that the economy is not weak after all.
Various descriptions have been given to the economy of Ghana. While some so called economists have described Ghana’s economy as weak, others, on the contrary, see it as strong or above average and can perform better going forward into the future.
Is the economy of Ghana weak or resilient, taking everything into consideration? When we speak of taking everything into consideration, we are referring to its industrial base, the agricultural sector, transportation, education system and the nature of other sectors that can influence economic performance.
Any objective mind that looks at the economy of Ghana will agree that for now, the economy is not strong enough to withstand external pressures such as the effect of the Russia-Ukraine war as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In spite of this the economy of Ghana cannot be described as weak.
This is because a good foundation has been laid for the economy despite the numerous challenges the country faces. It is these challenges that have led to inflation and the depreciation of the Cedi a few months back.
If for nothing at all, the implementation of 1 District 1 Factory in line with government’s industrialisation agenda is meant to lay some strong foundation for the country. The problem is that the effect of this programme cannot be felt immediately but, rather, in the future. If people look at the future and conclude that conditions are not good, they will be making a miserable mistake. Thus, in this sense, a strong foundation has been laid for the country and this will bring in the needed positive result in the near future.
Another strong foundation that has been laid for the country by the Akufo-Addo led government can be found in the health sector. We believe that Ghanaians have not forgotten about the numerous drones that have been brought into the country to help in the distribution of medicines to remote places in the country.
Until the drones were brought, areas that were far away suffered from numerous deaths due to lack of essential drugs to fight against snake bites and also absence of blood needed by certain patients at very critical points in their lives. The drones have been brought in for a good purpose and they are playing a positive role in the health sector.
As if this is not enough, efforts are also being made to ensure that there are enough hospitals in all parts of the country, whether urban or rural and whether at the regional level or at the district level. Again, 307 ambulances have been brought in to strengthen the health sector and save precious lives that could easily have been lost if such ambulances were not available.
As we speak today, every constituency in this country has at least one ambulance while at certain regional places, the ambulances available are not less than three or four. This shows that under such conditions, the health sector has been made stronger than before and going into the future, things will be very comfortable compared with previous times.
One other factor that cannot be overlooked is the introduction of Free Senior High School as well as Free Technical Vocational Education and Training for students in our second cycle institutions. Students are not just going in for the general type of education as was seen previously but also technical and vocational training which will help to build a strong technical labour force to meet the needs of the country.
When the labour force is made varied in this way, it means that the technical and vocational needs or otherwise can be met at any point in time. This is what will lead to strong growth in the coming years.
A strong foundation has also been laid for the agricultural sector. The implementation of programmes such as Planting for Food and Jobs and also for export has made things favourable to the country as far as food security is concerned.
Under the COVID pandemic, people in this country were easily fed because food was available compared with other countries that had to beg other nations to get food to meet the needs of their people. This is another indication showing that as a country, Ghana has done well in this direction.
To be able to facilitate rapid economic growth, there is the need to build a sound transportation system to help in the movement of goods and services and people across the length and breadth of the country. Under the agenda of “Year of Roads”, massive infrastructure in form of roads have been put up in areas of the country more than any other government has been able to do in this country.
However, we still need to do more in this sector and this calls for the building and rehabilitation of roads in the food growing areas. When this is done, food items can easily be transported from the food producing areas to the food consuming centres.
All in all much work has been done in all sectors of the economy to establish a strong base for rapid growth in the country. Economic development is a process that takes time and ought to be carried out in a consistent manner to establish a bright future for the economy. This is what is being done so the fundamentals of the economy have been set right.
When the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia, made the point that “if the fundamentals are weak, the weaknesses will be easily exposed”, he was quoted out of context and unfairly attacked by his political opponents who see nothing good about what the government is doing. Now that these fundamentals are being built and strengthened for our future lives, we need to commend the Vice President as well as the President himself and the entire government for a good work done.
Seeing in this light, therefore, a good foundation has been laid for the country compared to the previous shaky government that was in existence previously for which reason the Vice President made that statement.
Today, government has decided to cut down on imports by 40 per cent with effect from this year and it is believed that this will continue until the imports are reduced to an insignificant percentage to make the economy of the country very strong.
With the laying down of a strong foundation it will be wrong to say the fundamentals are weak as was seen in previous times and that as we go into the future, rapid economic growth will be attained to make life far better. It is in light of this that every citizen in the country ought to play his/her part in order to help move the country forward and make economic life better for all.
By Dr. Kofi Amponsah-Bediako
*Contact gmail address/ whatsApp number of author:
Pradmat201@gmail. com/0553318911
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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