President John Dramani Mahama’s formidable “24-Hour Financial system” coverage, not too long ago launched with a lot fanfare, bears hanging conceptual similarities to previous nationwide growth blueprints, together with the “Ghana Past Help” agenda and the 2017 coordinated programme of social and financial coverage.
This statement was critically articulated by Professor Bokpin, an economist, throughout an incisive dialogue on JoyFM’s Newsfile on Saturday, July 5.
Professor Bokpin, who meticulously analysed the “24-Hour Financial system” doc along side earlier nationwide methods and even Ghana’s quite a few IMF-supported programmes, identified a major lack of coverage continuity in Ghana’s homegrown initiatives, contrasting it with the sustained implementation usually seen in IMF programmes throughout completely different administrations.
“From conceptualisation to analysis, there is not a lot distinction on this doc and ‘Ghana Past Help’ after which the coordinated programme of social and financial growth; all of that, there is not a lot distinction,” Professor Bokpin asserted.
He clarified that this statement was to not downplay the work put into the present doc however slightly to spotlight the constant identification of the identical core points throughout numerous administrations.
He drew a parallel to the New Patriotic Social gathering’s (NPP) previous efforts to rework Ghana’s “Guggisberg economic system” – a colonial financial construction closely reliant on main commodity exports.
“It was basically transferring the economic system from being depending on main commodities to extra worth added,” he defined.
Professor Bokpin famous {that a} broad consensus has at all times existed on the necessity for an “agricultural revolution”, a aim echoed in each the “24-Hour Financial system” and “Ghana Past Help” paperwork.
Professor Bokpin underscored that the basic challenges confronting Ghana’s economic system, such because the wrestle to transition from uncooked materials export to value-added manufacturing, stay unchanged.
“If you end up requested why Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s state-owned enterprises collapsed, the identical points that made it collapse. They’re the identical points that confront us right this moment. Proper. So nothing is altering, proper?” he noticed.
He identified that regardless of efforts by successive governments, near 80% of Ghana’s export earnings within the Sixties have been from main commodities, and even with the addition of oil and gasoline, the construction largely stays related.
He cited express parallels between the 2 main coverage paperwork: “If you happen to take time to learn Ghana Past Help and also you learn this [24-Hour Economy], you will note nice similarity. Look, they name it now with the Christening, ‘Develop 24’. Actually, beneath the Ghana Past Help, they referred to as it ‘Wiser Ghana’ and had 5 pillars: Rich Ghana, Inclusive Ghana, Sustainable Ghana, Empowered Ghana, and Resilient Ghana, and all of that.”
Whereas acknowledging that the “24-Hour Financial system” doc provides a “bit extra give attention to big-scale intervention when it comes to utilizing the Volta Lake”, an space with vital untapped financial potential, Professor Bokpin raised important considerations about implementation.
He strongly criticised the proposal to create a brand new “authority” or secretariat for the 24-Hour Financial system, arguing that such strikes typify the “politics” in growth coverage and result in inefficient price centres.
“We need not create an authority for Ghana past a 24-hour economic system,” he burdened, lamenting a constant sample since 1992 of detaching growth insurance policies from current governmental buildings. He cited examples just like the Nationwide Well being Insurance coverage Authority, the place “roughly 44% of the entire allocation to them is spent on administration,” and COCOBOD, the place “it is potential that Cocoa has extra V8 than Cocoa Beans.”
“We need not even create a separate unit inside the Ghana Police Service for 24-hour. It is a mindset. It is a authorities programme. All people works with it,” he asserted, drawing a distinction with IMF-supported programmes that successfully utilise current institutional frameworks.
He questioned the necessity for a separate secretariat to gather knowledge when the Ghana Statistical Service already exists, advocating for infusing the coverage inside present ministries, departments, and businesses to minimise implementation prices and guarantee continuity throughout political transitions.
Lastly, Professor Bokpin raised questions concerning the doc’s key efficiency indicators (KPIs) and their linkage to important success components.
He emphasised the significance of standard, clear opinions, akin to these compelling authorities compliance with IMF programmes.
“There’s potential on this doc. Simply as you see, look, governance growth is in our literature. The doc – whenever you learn it, you’ll smile for Ghana. Simply as previously, we are able to write,” he concluded.
Nonetheless, he cautioned that the “costing hasn’t been carried out correctly,” suggesting that the said $4 billion finances is probably going insufficient, particularly provided that the “Huge Push” element alone requires $10 billion.
He reiterated that profitable implementation hinges on broader market-driven situations slightly than remoted incentives and on totally integrating the coverage inside current state equipment to make sure long-term sustainability.
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