The current state of Ghana requires a combination of an upgrade, reset, review and restructuring of all the sectors of the economy including majority of unprofitable, counterproductive and redundant policies and programmes.
Comprehensive sustainability of national development is achieved through continuous improvement of good policies and the discontinuation of bad ones.
Some policies and programmes such as Free SHS Policy, One District One Factory, One Constituency One Ambulance, Digital Economy (Digitization & Digitalization), Roads & Infrastructure all call for an UPGRADE.
Cronyism (appointment of a large number of family & friends to serve in government), nepotism, favoritism, winner-takes-it-all, unnecessary undermining of private businesspersons, corruption, nuisance taxes (including E-levy), galamsey (illegal mining), youth unemployment, National Cathedral construction, unprecedented national debt, Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), activities of the Bank of Ghana, downgrade of Ghana’s credit ratings and others call for RESETTING.
Good governance, accountability, proper rule of law, discipline, non-interference of state institutions, integrity of the judiciary, good moral values, protection of fundamental human rights, tolerance of divergent views, and absolute independence of the media, among others call for RESTORATION.
The economic architecture of Ghana seriously needs a REVIEW aimed at addressing the fundamentals of the economy including the macroeconomic, microeconomic, fiscal and monetary policies of the Government.
The fast depreciation of the cedi coupled with high interest rates, unstable inflation rates and higher debt-to-GDP ratio call for RESTRUCTURING of our economy.
Where Ghana has reached, we cannot use upgrade or reset alone to further develop the country for the greater good of all or greater majority of the citizens.
We cannot upgrade the bad policies and programmes of Akufo-Addo’s government and that of previous governments, especially Mahama’s administration.
We cannot also reset all the excellent policies and programmes of Akufo-Addo’s government and that of previous governments, including the Mahama-led administration.
There is the need to upgrade & restore the good policies/programmes, and reset & restructure the bad policies/programmes of current and previous governments.
For instance, in June 2020, the World Economic Forum (WEF) launched the GREAT RESET INITIATIVE aimed at facilitating a rebuilding from the global COVID-19 crisis in a way that prioritizes Sustainable Development. The Great Reset Initiative covered three major objectives namely:
- Creating conditions for a “stakeholder economy”.
- Building in a more “resilient, equitable and sustainable” way by utilizing environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics.
- Harnessing the innovations of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Currently, it is quite challenging pinpointing the exact POLICY ANCHORS of the NDC’s ‘Resetting Ghana’ agenda.
How can you reset Ghana without policy anchors and economic framework enshrined in your Manifesto?
Obviously, the 24-hour economy is good for an upgrade of the economy but not resetting it.
How do we upgrade Ghana without first of all paying the necessary attention to the restructuring of the economy?
How do you wholistically upgrade Ghana without making Ghanaians know your concrete & detailed policy-synergies of Macro-Model of Corporate Entrepreneurship & Innovations and Micro Model Enterprises?
How do you implement the Great Transformational Plan (GTP) without an Upgrade, Reset, Review and Restructuring?
The 10 Pillars of the Great Transformational Plan (GTP), proposed by the Presidential Aspirant of the Movement for Change, is not detailed enough to address the multi-dimensional problems of the national and local economies of Ghana.
As for the smaller parties and over 20 independent presidential candidates, almost all of them do not have any superior intellectual policy document for the socioeconomic transformation of Ghana.
They are mostly acting as interest-driven pressure groups in our democracy.
Not every policy or programme needs RESET.
Not every policy or programme requires UPGRADE.
In fact, some policies and programmes need OUTRIGHT DELETIONS or DISCONTINUATION with immediate effect from 8th January, 2025.
By Razak Kojo Opoku Â
Source: myjoyonline.com
Editor’s note: Views expressed in this article do not represent that of The Chronicle
