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There is no doubt that during the Kufuor administration, public policy was geared towards empowering the private sector to serve as the “engine of growth” in spearheading national development and growth.

One of the moves was a deliberate attempt by the government never to crowd out the private sector from accessing financial resources.

However, in sticking to the tenets of liberalism, the government failed the private sector gravely in a number of instances when they could have been propped up.

That was in spite of the slogan to encourage Ghanaians to patronise and consume Made-in-Ghana products.

Two incidents stand out clearly — when it came to the acquisition of textbooks and materials to meet the requirements of the education reforms, and in the supply of materials towards the celebration of Ghana at 50, foreign suppliers were engaged at the expense of local manufacturers.

Of course, such positions were rationalised and it made sense only to those who saw these things solely on the basis of prices, not the concomitant jobs and taxes that accrue from such contracts.

That is why, no matter what initial faulty steps were taken, the National Democratic Congress and particularly the Vice-President, John Dramani Mahama, must be congratulated for taking the bold step to limit the supply of school uniforms under the government programme to provide these for deprived children, to indigenous productions.

I felt extremely proud, as the Vice-President who only the previous day had honoured me by acknowledging that he decided to do his post-graduate studies in Communication Studies, because his roommate, Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, had taken that path, engaged the Association of Ghana Industries, with the promise that the policy could be extended to the supply of uniforms to the security agencies.

That was my roommate, Room! All we need to do, is to continue to monitor government policies and programmes, such that if they stray, they would be brought back on course.

But next time round, the local entities must be consulted early enough so that they could deliver timeously. For as it is, the uniforms cannot be available for the beginning of the next academic year which commences next month.

The contracts may not have been concluded by then. While commending government for the bold and radically functional stand, it is imperative that the local companies are not crowded out of the financial market. If that happens, they may not have the resources to meet the time lines.

What it means is that government must act to halt the erosion of the local currency, even if it drops a little at a time. As the adage goes, it is little drops of water which make a mighty ocean.

That is where the policy of advance or full payment before services could be provided by public bodies must be thoroughly examined.

For, whereas those who win contracts to execute jobs for the state have to complete the work before they submit their claims for payment, it now appears that government agencies are unwilling or forbidden to provide any service on credit basis.

As Ghanaians, we need to have open minds about the way our country is being run. That is why where governments pursue good policies which yield functional results, we must commend the government and equally, where the government is failing, we have to state that unequivocally, so that the gaps between the words and deeds of the government could be rectified for the good of us all.

In that regard, it appears the current government does not seem to be willing to recognise the healthy policies pursued by its predecessor.

When the Minister of the Interior met the press recently, he announced among other things that the government has introduced the “Justice for all” programme to decongest our prisons.

If there is any credit, it must go to the immediate past Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, MP for Ketan in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis, whose foresight culminated in the programme.

That the NDC has found it prudent to continue with the exercise underlines the national interest that the project is serving. That is how nations are developed.

Listening to different interest groups about the recent shortage of petroleum products in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions, one gets the clear impression that it happened because the stocks piled up at Buipe got exhausted. Continued    Source: Graphic - Daily Graphic

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