The National President of the Chattered Institute of Marketing, Ghana, Dr. D. Kasser Tee, has urged Ghanaians who have completely rejected government’s proposed Debt Exchange Programme to rethink their decision.
He made this known over the weekend at the Institution’s 32nd Presidential ball and Induction ceremony, under the theme: “Creative Marketing and Innovation in A Volatile Global Economy,” in Accra.
According to Dr. Kasser Tee, without the Debt Exchange Programme, debt servicing alone would in 2023 consume close to 70% of Ghana’s projected tax revenues and over 55% of total anticipated revenues, including grants.
To him, it is necessary for Ghanaians who do not support it to take a step back, control their anger and emotions and take a good hard look at the situation the country is faced with currently.
“Government has customarily fallen short of its tax revenue targets and this makes the situation even more precarious than the projections indicate,” he added.
He continued that the program was the only way forward for investors of the affected government debt securities, if government wants to eventually get their monies.
“If we refuse to participate, government will simply default on its repayments under the original terms and unfortunately, there is very little we can do about it,” he warned.
He, however, asked government to quickly engage relevant stakeholders to gain their support for the successful implementation of the debt exchange programme.
Dr Kasser Tee also called on government to further work on its communication structures to carry Ghanaians along on its decisions.
“That said, I want to use this platform to persuade government to improve its communication with the people. They must do this effectively through both the government communication setup, as well as their party communication structures.
“The frequent rush dumping of information, which usually comes after the fact, is not helpful. Public Relations is about deliberately planned top-level management communication activities aimed at the harmonisation of stakeholder interests.”
Addressing the gathering of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), he urged them to critically look at all available and workable organic growth strategies and propose less risky and less costly ways of pursuing market penetration, as well as market and product development strategies.
He emphasised that, “we must emphasise on value creation from our knowledge of buyer behaviour and also take advantage of effective target marketing. The products we offer must deliver unmatched value to buyers, in terms of inherent utility and service quality.”
He urged marketers to also look beyond Ghana, by considering the wide range advantages available for doing cross border trade within Africa, on the back of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
As the internet remains key in all these activities, he advised that they must make the provision of IT-based solutions number one, as it remains the single most important and most cost-effective way to reach and interact with the markets.
