A Professor at the University of Ghana Business School, Godfred Bokpin, has said the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration deserves credit for building Ghana’s reserves.
He says, although the previous government could have done more for the economy if they had listened, it is always good to credit them where credit is due.
“We need to give credit to the previous NPP administration for building our reserves,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, July 26.
Prof Bokpin further said that it still remains a promise until Ghanaians see the release of funds for the road projects that have been listed in the mid-year budget.
The Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, while presenting the mid-year budget on July 24, mentioned the Hohoe to Jasikan and Have to Hohoe Roads as part of the projects to be funded.
Dr Ato Forson said, “As part of the Big Push Programme, we have also selected the following abandoned road projects, for which no dedicated funding was allocated by the previous administration.
“Rehabilitation and upgrading of Kasoa – Winneba road, rehabilitation of Ofankor – Nsawam road (Dual Carriageway), Dualisation of Takoradi – Agona Junction road, Construction of Suame Interchange and Local Roads, Construction of National Route N18: Wa – Han road, Upgrading of Tumu – Chuchuliga – Navrongo including construction of 36m span reinforced concrete bridge over Kanyibie River and 24m span reinforced concrete bridge over Bechelihu river,” he said.
Others include the reconstruction of Navrongo – Chuchuliga – Sandema road, rehabilitation of Tepa (Mabang) – Goaso road, rehabilitation of Hohoe – Jasikan Road, Upgrading of Nkwanta – Oti Damanko Road, reconstruction of the Have-Hohoe Road, Dualization of Adenta – Dodowa road; and reconstruction of Jinijini – Sampa road.
Reacting to this Prof Bokpin said “The government is not spending appropriately to match our infrastructure deficit. I am not blaming the Minister, given the fact that they want to spend within their means, this seems optimal now.
“Listing the roads we are going to do is different from committing resources to to until you see commitment, cash flow disbursal, it is not going to happen.”
He, however, lauded the current government for listening to how the economy should run. He said he has seen leadership in the current management of the economy.
“It looks to me that this government has listened adequately in terms of the direction this economy has to go, and they deserve to take credit,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, July 26.
To him, the current administration has enough room to take credit for the rebound of the economy.
“The current administration has ample room to take credit for the economy,” he said. “The past administration did not listen,” he added.
“If the previous management of the central bank had 40 per cent of the leadership that the current ones are showing now, the economic situation would have been different,” he added.
Prof Bokpin also commended the current government for the level of fiscal cuts witnessed.
“We haven’t seen anything like this in our history,” he said.
For his part, a Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Joshua Jebuntie Zaato, said that the time has come for the Mahama administration to own the economy and stop blaming their previous government.
He says they can no longer blame the past administration because Ghanaians expect them to implement their policies.
“This economy is now Mahama’s, they should stop blaming the past government,” Dr Zaato said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, July 26.
He further accused the Mahama administration of inconsistency.
He said that, whereas the current managers of the economy admit to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the previous government set a good foundation for an economic recovery, they also paint a different picture when they speak to Ghanaians, claiming Ghana was a crime scene.
“We have made it look at that when the economy was handled over it was bad and there was nothing good about it, but sometimes we are seeing figures today that contradict the current government on what they say.
“They made it look like they inherited a crime scene, but when they meet the IMF, they praise the former government. This doesn’t show consistency,” he said.
His comments come at a time when the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, said that at the time the Mahama administration took over governance on January 7, the economy was struggling.
He stated that they inherited a weak financial sector with significant non-performing loans. Additionally, he noted that they inherited a derailing IMF programme.
“Indeed, as President Mahama said, the whole of Ghana was a crime scene,” he remarked during the mid-year budget presentation.
Dr. Ato Forson accused the previous Akufo-Addo administration of incompetence in managing the economy.
He also blamed the central bank under the Akufo-Addo government for driving inflation to unprecedented levels.
In contrast to the previous administration, he said President Mahama has chosen the path of structural reforms and transformation.
“We have made significant progress; the signs of recovery are visible,” he added.
