Government’s policy prescriptions over the past few years have not been people centred, the reason Ghana is recording positive economic growth without a reflection in the lives of the masses.
The assertion, from a Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Godfred Alufar Bokpin, has left many Ghanaians in poverty despite the positive outlook in the books.
He says government’s interest has only been celebrating positive Gross Domestic Product (GDP) even if it is not giving real value to the lives of the citizens.
Speaking on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, October 26, 2024, Prof. Bokpin said the absolute reliance on positive growth without recourse to its real impact on the people is the reason Ghana is having good outcomes on paper but people go to bed with empty stomachs.
In his explanation, Professor Bokpin said development economy has gone beyond merely making profit, even at the private sector.
He reemphasised the need to ensure development is socially desirable and environmentally consistent, in order for the people not to suffer any damning consequences.
His analysis stemmed from the discussion on illegal mining and its impact on the environment, without any corresponding impact on the lives of Ghanaians.
He said although gold might have contributed to the positive outlook Ghana’s economy appears to be having, the illegal small-scale aspect which contributed to a part of the growth is harming the environment, and also not impacting the people’s livelihoods.
“If you look at it from the GDP point of view, that’s just one line of understanding this whole ecosystem we are talking about. In the development economy today, the discussion is not merely that you’re making profit. Even at the private sector level, it’s not good enough to say we are making profit [but] the quality of the profit. How environmentally consistent, socially desirable, ecologically consistent.
“At the national level, development today must reflect the five Ps. It must be people focused. There is nothing like development if it’s people-absent and in our part of the world, the reason why we have celebrated positive growth meanwhile millions of Ghanaians are not sure where their next meal will come from is that people are not actually the focus of our policy prescription. We are okay to celebrate positive GDP even if that GDP left millions of Ghanaians behind,” he explained.
Prof. Bokpin’s analysis follows a similar sentiment which had been shared earlier by Prof. Patrick Asuming, from the same UGBS, saying Ghana’s reliance on macro-data is the reason the country appears to be doing well on paper but poorly in reality.
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