Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, an economic advisor to the President, \u00a0has alleged that there are a series of fraudulent activities ongoing in the public sector which largely go unnoticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in government for only six months and I\u2019m just shocked at the sheer scale of fraudulent activities below the surface that we don\u2019t usually see, they don\u2019t usually make the headlines\u2026sometimes you just wonder what is going on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He questioned why the same people who call on government to deal with issues of corruption tend to \u201cundermine\u201d government’s measures.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026We cannot eat our \u2018koose\u2019 and have it at the same time. Someway or another, we have to pitch in but that\u2019s not to say that we cannot criticize government when things are going wrong but it\u2019s a collective effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Effects of Election Petition<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Thompson pointed out that Ghana for the first time has experienced an \u201cunusual post election period\u201d due to the eighth-month long 2012 election petition hearing at the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n 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, \u201ccommon sense would at least suggest that it did have a role. It was more or less, a stagnation of economic activity.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Government economic policies<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Thompson also disclosed that the President \u201chas done a more elaborate document which I\u2019m 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\u2026 the President is calling for the Economic Forum\u201d to make room for workers in the informal sector to make their concerns known.<\/p>\n According to him, government\u2019s current economic strategy revolves around transformation because \u201cwe are in a period of transition and it has to be done that way and that\u2019s what all policies are geared towards.\u201d<\/p>\n Taxes<\/strong><\/p>\n On the issue of taxes,\u00a0Dr. Thompson, who is a former head of research for the Convention People\u2019s Party (CPP)\u00a0urged Ghanaians not to focus only on the mobilization of funds by government through taxes because \u201cthe utilization aspect of it is equally important.\u201d<\/p>\n He stressed that economic policies \u201ctake time to actually gain root and manifest and I can understand the impatience of the public\u2026but such is the nature of our institutions that it actually takes more time than it should.\u201d<\/p>\n Lack of trust in government policies<\/strong><\/p>\n The President\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cCommunicating these issues has been a weak point in governance so yes; people have a right and in a lot of instances, they are right\u2026but that\u2019s where the policy consistency needs to come in\u2026and that\u2019s where we are working towards,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He advised Ghanaians, political opponents and economic experts \u201cto look beyond the pessimism and look at some of the good things that are happening.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By: Efua Idan Osam\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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