General News of Wednesday, 28 November 2018
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2018-11-28
Dr Priscilla Twumasi-Baffour
Government scored the highest points on economic management at a programme to assess President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led administration’s two-years in government.
Economist, Dr Priscilla Twumasi-Baffour, scored the administration 70% at Joy FM’s The Scorecard for prudent economic decisions, commending its macroeconomic management.
“Currently we are operating under the Extended Credit Facility under the World Bank which we subscribed to in 2015. Under the programme we were struggling because we needed to stabilise the macroeconomic environment; we needed credibility for policy and support essentially the significant depreciation of the cedi at that time.
“When you look at the GDP trajectory at that time, in 2014 we grew at 4%, 2015 we grew at 3.8% and in 2016 we grew at 3.7%. Coming to the NPP era, in 2017 growth was 8.4% and the projected growth for the end of 2018 is 6.3%. So looking at these numbers I will say that we are on the right course,” she said.
The Scorecard on Tuesday attempted a 10-hour assessment of the current government’s performance and its promise of change.
It brought together renowned experts, politicians and the general public to appraise how the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has performed after taking over the government in 2016.
Dr Twumasi-Baffuor, an Economist Professor at the University of Ghana, commended non-oil growth in terms of GDP but urged the government to be more discipline in prudent spending in post-IMF.
“We will have to be more discipline to consolidate the gains that have been made so that we don’t run back to the IMF to bail us out. In terms of the President’s own Ghana beyond aid description, taking our own destiny into our own hands and managing our affairs well,” she said.
It could better
Former Finance Minister Seth Terkper, however, suggested that the current government’s policies have left the economy reeling.
There are several factors the government of Ghana cannot control – like ballooning crude oil prices and a strengthened U.S. dollar, Terkper cited. But taxes, he said, have swelled to new extremes.
“The VAT has had a bad impact,” he told Joy News’ Raymond Acquah on a panel discussion analyzing NPP’s performance after nearly two years in power.
Lowest score
On the same programme, the government scored the lowest for the fight against corruption.
Founding President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, scored government 3% for stamping out corruption, stating that a chunk of the activities in this area is devoid of substance.
“I haven’t seen much hope really. I have seen a lot of forms but no substance,” he said.
End of Scorecard
He added: “It looks to me as if we are doing the witches’ dance. Two steps forward and three steps backs and that combined with the transparency I give them three.