Accra, July 21, GNA – Mr. Joseph Winful, Board Chair of the Internal Audit Agency, says all interventions aimed at resuscitating the economy will be less impactful if the country’s leaders lack the right character and integrity to take bold decisions.
He observed that the democratic system practiced in the country had over the years deprived the country of the needed calibre of people with integrity and discipline to overturn economic woes of the country.
By virtue of gaining political office through a monetised process, he explained, people with integrity got squeezed out of the political space because they were not attractive to political investors who usually had political and economic agenda.
“We have taken a wrong step that has encouraged the monetisation of leadership selection process in politics and that is where there is the concern that we might not have the right people to lead the country,” he said.
Speaking as the Chairman of a public forum organised by the Economic Governance Platform and Advocates for Christ Ghana, Mr Winful observed that the outcome of a recent conference organised by a political party had cast a ray of hope on the future of democracy in the country.
“I have realised that there is some hope, at least, though there is monetisation, some of those who took the money did not vote for those who they took the money from and that means they are learning,” he said.
A Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana, Prof Godfred Bokpin, said that operationalising Ghana’s democracy had become so expensive that it left little fiscal space for growth enhancing spending.
He said the Government could do more to cut expenditure by for instance, reducing the size of cabinet.
Prof Bokpin noted that leadership even at the hands of a few individuals had played a key role of transforming world economies and that Ghana could do same.
“But as it stands now, people are building their political future and that of their political parties and that is why they can hold Party conference sustainably while the country is struggling to pay salaries,” he said.
Prof Bokpin urged the Government to, as hallmark of good leadership, “respectfully” shun the blame game and admit that it could have done better with the management of the economy despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia -Ukraine War.
“As for the blame game it doesn’t put food on anybody’s table. If you want to blame, you can even put part of the blame on Dr Kwame Nkrumah and what will that do for us?” He queried.