A Tale Of Ghana

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia could not have dissected the Ghanaian story anymore than he did last Tuesday. No diagnosis of the near comatose state of the economy surpasses the gentleman's discourse even as expectedly those whose abysmal performance triggered it all hiss in insincere denial.

A countrywide excitement had built up many days before the lecture day, the reason for which is not far-fetched. Ghanaians want to know why they are where they are today and whether there is a glimmer of light at the end of the seeming dark tunnel.

Bawumia, the man whose many admirers regard him as a prophet of the economy, held Ghana spellbound as he summed it all up: we are where we are because of fiscal irresponsibility and insincerity on the part of the managers of the economy.

Hinging the discourse around whether or not the recourse to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout can serve as an effective anchorage or not, he said 'no' because according to him the prescriptions are based on unreliable data.

There is so much insincerity in governance. Propagandists still dabble in matters of the economy, churning out dubious data which do not conform to the reality.

Unfortunately, those who are bandying unreliable data around will sooner than later be exposed when the chicken comes home to roost.

So much is at stake on the IMF bailout that when this worrying picture is painted about what went into it, there is cause for apprehension.

We have come a long way since the veiled adoption of propaganda as a cornerstone of governance under this political administration.

For how long shall we continue to have this country run on mendacity? There appears to be no end to this aberration which has impacted negatively on our image in the comity of civilised nations.

Grouping Ghana among countries such as Zimbabwe and Somalia, as gleaned from Bawumia's discourse, is not a feat worth rejoicing over.

It would serve the interest of the nation if the contents of the discourse were considered by government with a view to adopting pragmatic and effective measures that are capable of reversing the dire state of the economy.

It is instructive to note that seeking an IMF bailout is about fiscal discipline. It is one thing subscribing to an IMF bailout and another, the most critical, adhering to the prescribed terms.

This is the challenge which, considering the shortcomings of the government, would be near impossible to achieve.

When Dr Bawumia made reference to the foregone, his position was informed by the unenviable track record of the government. For a country which has suffered a penalty over presenting false claims to a Bretton Wood institution, Bawumia's charge of presenting false data to the IMF is not strange.

Ignoring the alarm bell about the skyrocketing debt stock and tauntingly referring to the anomaly as a smart borrowing—as the finance minister did—is, to state the least, most appalling. It is an apt indication of how the country's economy is being run.