If the government indeed believes that it is building a nation, then it should listen to the proposals of the People’s National Convention (PNC) to alleviate the economic pain of Ghanaians.
The PNC, which has also been in government before, during the Third Republic as the People’s National Party (PNP), though for a very short time, through its General Secretary Janet Asana Nabla has recommended some proposals to the government which if heeded will go a long way to help resuscitate the economy.
The PNC, which means well for Ghana and wants the government to succeed, observed that the general increases in prices of goods and services are being driven by the unprecedented increases in petroleum prices, exacerbated by the free fall of the Ghana Cedi. Given this situation, the PNC has recommended that the government takes charge of the importation and pricing of petroleum products to ensure prices are affordable for the ordinary Ghanaian.
It encouraged the government to do all it can to revive the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) by putting it in the best position to refine Ghana’s crude oil for the local market. That way, we will be relieved from the forex pressure coming from the unstable international oil market.
The PNC went on to urge the government not to pay attention to the few individuals trying to thwart its efforts by saying it is impossible and commended the government’s initiative to import cheap petroleum products as a short-term measure to stabilise prices.
The call by the PNC comes days after President Akufo-Addo asserted that the country is in crisis and for this reason we need to work together as a nation in finding lasting solutions to the quagmire we find ourselves in.
The global economy continues to face steep challenges, shaped by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and does not look like it will end sooner.
The president painted a sordid picture when he said, “The whole world has been taken aback by the speed with which inflation has eaten away people’s incomes.
Economies have experienced, over this year alone, the highest rise in cost of living over a generation; the highest rise in government borrowing in over 50 years; the highest rise in inflation for 40 years; the steepest depreciation in currencies to the US dollar over the last 30 years; the fastest peak in interest rates for over 20 years; with over a hundred million people being pushed into extreme poverty.”
It is true that the prices of petroleum products determine the cost of living and as there seem to be no end in sight to a closure of this global economic quagmire, the government should heed the laudable proposals by the PNC.
The Chronicle is glad about the position taken by the PNC, unlike other political parties and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) which have chosen to sit on the fence.
Our economy is in recession and at this point, the government should not act like the climbing plant which ignored the generous advice of the tortoise to the loud singing bird on top of the tree. The PNC cannot be naysayers.
