A Lecturer at Ashesi University, Dr. Esi Ansah has advised government to work with the private sector to address Ghana’s economic challenges.
“I am looking for a time when our leaders will engage with people in the private sector such as the CSOs to figure out some of the things they can do to fix Ghana’s problems,”Dr. Ansah proposed.
Government has been criticized for its failure to halt the depreciation of the cedi, high inflation rate, rising budget deficit and increased cost of borrowing and other economic challenges facing the country.
A group of protesters on Tuesday took to the streets to demonstrate against what they describe as unfavourable economic conditions in the country.
The group also threatened to stage more demonstrations if government fails to address the current challenges facing the country.
Inflation currently stands at 14.7 percent, representing the highest rate since Feburary 2010.
An economist, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia earlier this year, described Ghana’s economy as a crisis situation.
According to him, Ghana must ask the International Monetary Fund(IMF) for a bailout for the ailing economy.
Speaking on Citi FM’s News Analysis Programme, The Big Issue, Dr Esi Ansah described Tuesday’s protest as “the beginning of just an awakening of citizens.”.
She decried the state of affairs in the country saying “we [Ghana] have fuel shortages, we don’t have running water, the currency has depreciated so quickly, and there is a lot of helplessness and despondency.”
According to her, though the country’s challenges are not new, it will make a big difference if government takes immediate steps to address the problems.“These challenges are not new, but if you were in an era that you felt that something was being done, that will make a difference.”
Dr. Ansah further attributed the surge in corrupt practices in the country to a system failure. “The corruption we see is not about individuals who are greedy but a system failure.”
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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