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23.05.2012 Editorial

New Face Of Our Woes

By Daily Guide
President John Evans Atta MillsPresident John Evans Atta Mills
23.05.2012 LISTEN

Describe government's reaction to the economic challenges in the Ghanaian marketplace as a classic case of denial and you would have hit the nail on the coffin.

Government continues to maintain that all is well with its management of the economy and that Ghanaians are better off under the Mills/Mahama administration than they were under previous politico-economic dispensations.

Such typical propaganda rhetoric pervades the political plane even as the unfavourable times continue to defy the so-called government intervention to arrest them.

The price of a bag of cement has hit an all-time high of GH¢25 as the crestfallen Cedi continues its downward spiral against the dollar recording GH¢2 to the dollar at the time of composing this editorial.

Market watchers are speculating that by the end of this year, the cedi to dollar value would have reached GH¢3 to a dollar, worsening further the already sickening economic situation of the country.

Market women are moaning over the non-patronage of their wares as housewives suffer the brunt of a rising tide of domestic violence prompted by poor pressure and anger management of husbands.

Things did not start falling apart today; they did when propaganda began playing a critical role in governance under the incumbent administration. We have reached a stage where the cries of Ghanaians about the rising cost of living appear to be nearing the rooftop.

The plaintive reference to their situation, as in songs and street-side jokes, are reflective of the reality of the challenges facing most Ghanaians today.

Little wonder that when Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia took Ghanaians through a journey in economics, against the backdrop of the non-adding fiscal figures, those at the helm deemed the revelation an effrontery of the highest order.

The pressure being suffered by Ghanaians could have been assuaged had government accepted the existence of the challenges and avoided hiding behind the screen of propaganda and naked denial.

The so-called 'Better Ghana' agenda mantra has not only failed; it stands as an irritating propaganda project which infuriates most Ghanaians like no other.

A solution to the challenges would remain out of the reach of those at the helm because of their insincere denial of the realities and incessant dangling of a so-called single-digit inflation touted as an unprecedented feat in the country's economic history.

The unimpressive governance credential of government, unfavourable policies and above all the employment of propaganda as a recipe for economic management cannot support the achievement of a healthy economy.

It is therefore regrettable to note that the recent Bank of Ghana intervention announced with propaganda fanfare to stop the downward slide of the Cedi, has also failed as the trickle-down effects bite the average Ghanaian even harder.

President Mills's economic therapy has failed an unusual economic development in which a single-digit figure does not reflect in the reality on the ground. As Dr. Bawumia pointed out, 'the figures do not add up.'

 

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