Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, an economic advisor to the President, has alleged that there are a series of fraudulent activities ongoing in the public sector which largely go unnoticed.
“I’ve been in government for only six months and I’m just shocked at the sheer scale of fraudulent activities below the surface that we don’t usually see, they don’t usually make the headlines…sometimes you just wonder what is going on,” he said.
He questioned why the same people who call on government to deal with issues of corruption tend to “undermine” government’s measures.
“…We cannot eat our ‘koose’ and have it at the same time. Someway or another, we have to pitch in but that’s not to say that we cannot criticize government when things are going wrong but it’s a collective effort.”
Effects of Election Petition
Dr. Thompson pointed out that Ghana for the first time has experienced an “unusual post election period” due to the eighth-month long 2012 election petition hearing at the Supreme Court.
This, he said, has largely contributed to the slow turnaround of the economy two years after the national elections adding that, it is unfortunate some individuals fail to acknowledge the situation saying, “common sense would at least suggest that it did have a role. It was more or less, a stagnation of economic activity.”
He was however quick to clarify that government is in no way making excuses as it is vigorously embarking on its plan to bring about economic stability.
Government economic policies
Dr. Thompson also disclosed that the President “has done a more elaborate document which I’m sure he will be presenting to Parliament in due course that gives more concrete information as to what measures to be taken especially at the macro level. At the micro level… the President is calling for the Economic Forum” to make room for workers in the informal sector to make their concerns known.
According to him, government’s current economic strategy revolves around transformation because “we are in a period of transition and it has to be done that way and that’s what all policies are geared towards.”
Taxes
On the issue of taxes, Dr. Thompson, who is a former head of research for the Convention People’s Party (CPP) urged Ghanaians not to focus only on the mobilization of funds by government through taxes because “the utilization aspect of it is equally important.”
He stressed that economic policies “take time to actually gain root and manifest and I can understand the impatience of the public…but such is the nature of our institutions that it actually takes more time than it should.”
Lack of trust in government policies
The President’s Economic Advisor conceded that there is seeming absence of public trust in the Mahama government and its economic policies due to the lack of effective communication between government and citizens of Ghana.
“Communicating these issues has been a weak point in governance so yes; people have a right and in a lot of instances, they are right…but that’s where the policy consistency needs to come in…and that’s where we are working towards,” he said.
He advised Ghanaians, political opponents and economic experts “to look beyond the pessimism and look at some of the good things that are happening.”
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @osamidan