Fixing The Country: Open Letter To The President On Some National Issues -Part 15

Dear President,

In response to your clarion call that we should be constructive citizens and not spectators, I once again wish to make a submission on some national issues with the view to making recommendations on some actions on the national issues under the subject Economics and Political.

General

The Ghanaian economy is characterized by public (State) and private enterprises in three main sectors as follows; (a) Agriculture Sector (crops and livestock, cocoa production and marketing, fishing, forestry and logging). Food crops are said to be the main contributors to agricultural output, followed by cocoa, timber and fishing. Ghana‘s food crops include cereals like rice, maize, millet, sorghum plantain and root crops like yam, cassava and cocoyam. The most valuable tree crops are palm fruit and cocoa.

(b). Industry (mining and quarry, construction, petroleum, electricity and water manufacturing and Petroleum exploitation) Ghana‘s mining sector is mainly gold, Manganese, Bauxite diamond and mining.

(c) Service Sector (transport, warehousing or storage and IT/communication, wholesale and retail trade, real estates restaurant and hotels, insurance, financial and business services, government services, etc). Ghana‘s service sector has been the fastest growing sector of the economy. The bulk of service activities are in trading and public services. One of Ghana‘s promising service sectors is tourism, which has the potential to become the country’s easy source or ways to mobilize both local and foreign currencies. Unfortunately not much funding is allocated for the tourism sector. But thanks to some Media Houses including GBC TV/News especially a program producer namely Miss Beatrice Sedanuju, She is highly commended for showcasing the Atwea Mountain Methodists Praying Camp at the Mountain. It is hope this good works of some of the media houses will help go a long way to increase both local and foreign tourists to the area and thus increase revenue to the area and the nation.

The below tables from Ghana Statistics Services (GSS) shows the state of the three sectors. The table shows that the economy state of Ghana between 2005 and 2019 has been fluctuating (rising and falling hence therefore unstable).

Growth figures as a percentage of the economy -By sectors from 2005 to 2019

Growth figures in percentage of the GDP by sectors from 2005 to 2019

It is clear that the Service sector gradually took over the lead as the major contributor of gross domestic product, then followed by the Industry with the Agricultural Sector dwindling. The decline in the Agric sector could be due to lack of attention or low investment, poor policies, lack of incentives and inadequate improved planting material or due to some Agric Risks like drought and natural disasters such as storms, weed, pest and disease, storage and marketing risks (post-harvest holdings and marketing). It is recommended that for Ghana to achieve higher GDP growth rate, she should transform and modernize the agricultural sector and the related services. From the Statistics, one may be tempted to conclude that for Ghana to attain rapid higher GDP growth rates, more resources should also be channeled into the service sector especially tourism infrastructure. Nevertheless, the government should make structural changes in the agricultural sector because it forms the core of growth and development of the economy and employs the highest labour force, so, need for the transformation and modernization of the agricultural sector for further growth cannot be over emphasized.

As you are aware Economic growth is one of key indicators of macroeconomics. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total Ghana Cedis value of all goods and services produced. The growth rate is the percentage increase or decrease of GDP from the previous measurement period. The GDP growth increases if retail expenditures, government spending, and exports increase. The GDP growth rate has a direct influence on businesses, jobs and personal income. So, if GDP grows then business, jobs and personal income will also grow. If GDP is declining or slowing down, then businesses will avoid investing in new purchases and engaging new employees and wait for the improvement of the economy. A decline or slowing down of GDP will reduce GDP and consumers will have less money to spend on purchases and when the GDP growth rate slows down turning to negative, then the economy is heads to a downturn.

Politics and Economics

Politics is about a way of life hence, it cover all aspects of live and Economy may be said to be the studies of human behaviour or acts of a Nation in the provision and consumption of goods and services within local markets and the provision and consumption of goods and services from global market. Consequently, the use of government machinery in making both microeconomic and macroeconomic decisions with respect to the use of resources is very imperative and this is described as Economy Planning. Microeconomic decisions include what goods and services to produce, the quantities to produce, the prices to charge, and the wages to pay. Macroeconomic decisions include the rate of investment and the extent of foreign trade. The objective of Economy Planning include achieving economic growth in terms of increase in per capita income, increase in the level of employment, removal of inequality in the distribution of income, reducing or removal of poverty, ensuring social and economic justice etc. The three various sectors of the Economy (Agric, Services and Industry) might contribute either positively or negatively to GDP growth in an economy depending on the kind of policies put in place by the policy makers or Economy Planners.

A GSS report indicated that the Service Sector has been experiencing rapid growth of about 3/5 (three-fifths) of GDP, the industrial Sector about 1/4 (one-fourth) of GDP and Agriculture almost 1/5 fifth (one-fifth) of GDP. Hence the Service Sector has over performed than the other two sectors of the Economy with the Agricultural Sector which much noise has been made since 2005 as the engine of growth, rather continues to decline or lacking behind the other two Sectors. Hence the National Economy Planners (the National Development Planning Commission) need to work had to get Agriculture to regain the lead otherwise at par with the Service Sector. The dwindling of the Agricultural Sector demo the woes of this Country and this is due to bad economy planning implying our Presidents since 2005 always pay lip services to the Agricultural Sector as the engine for economic growth and thus disregard the Maputo declaration in July 2003 by Heads of States of the African Union on Agriculture and Food Security. The Maputo declaration in July 2003 requres member Countries of the African Union to increase annual national budgetary allocations for the Agricultural Sector to at least 10% to ensure food security and therefore improve the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and this is not so .

So one can comfortably say that the economic woes of this Country may be attributed to mismanagement by all regimes of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, which is endowed by Almighty God with both rich natural and human resources and the current hardships or the woes have been aggravated by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War. The situation in the past has been a case of one step forward and two steps backwards in all sectors of the economy but the current situation is more than four steps backward due to the harsher suffering the nation is going through. So all the citizenry should see it as a Game Changer therefore our last chance to change our attitude, starting from you Sir, our Leader (the President of Ghana) for the Citizenry to follow by a general resolution and commitment and support you as the Captain or Pilot (Navigator) of the sinking-ship to navigate the Ship from Doldrums to the Upturn level towards Ghana beyond Aid. This requires eschewing of arrogance and abide by the dogma of probity, transparency, Accountability of the 1992 Constitution through total stakeholders engagement, ensure an effective and efficient participatory democracy at all times for all to contribute our quota honestly and diligently for this Country to make a rapid development.

To do so requires a stoppage of the blame game by accepting that the economy of this Country has been mismanaged since 1992 and so that collectively we pursue transparent, consistent and coherent (logical, cogent, well-structured) national policies which should be made to survive all future regimes.

So, Sir, I wish to remind you that before the coming into force of the 1992 Constitution we used to have both Finance and Economy Planning combined into one Ministry as the Ministry for Finance and Economy Planning with competent staff to support the Minister for Finance and Economy Planning in the running of the Ministry. It was therefore well established as one body to see to the running of the Economy of Ghana. This made the late General Acheampong immediately on taking over the administration of the Country to assume the role of the Commissioner (Minister) for Finance and Economy Planning, in order to reboot then economy in doldrums through his Yentua (will not pay) mantra, made a questionable revaluation of the Cedis from 1.82 Cedis to one USA Dollar to 1.28 Cedis to one USA Dollar which by surprise later on appreciated to 1.15 Cedis to one USA Dollar, he instituted no external burrowing policy, thus ensured restriction to the use of domestic revenue for the then national budget.

So, this made the late General Acheampong to immediately come out with his home grown solution or policies of OPERATION FEED YOURSELF, OPERATION FEED YOUR INDUSTRY as part of import substitution policy. In order to see to the success of the policy, he ensured these policies were well proclaimed in Print and electronic media as a measure to ensure the Citizenry bought the policies. Some success was achieved that enabled him to raise the revenue for the numerous Infrastructure that he executed in the history of this Country namely Agricultural-Infrastructure (Irrigation dams at Tano, the Afefe, Dawyenya, Kpong etc, feeder roads), massive Social Infrastructure (Housing Projects like SSNIT Flats and Low Cost Housing projects, roads, Stadia, Regional Catering Rest Houses, Schools etc), Industries and Commercial (mining, Regional Development Corporation, etc).

Furthermore, when President Liman took over as Head of State in September 1979, he initially appointed an astute Economist by name Dr Amon Nikoi, a former Commissioner for the Ministry of Finance and Economy Planning, who was also an ex-Governor of Bank of Ghana as the Minister for Finance and Economy Planning from September 1979 to March 1981, but at a point in time in 1981 the President saw the need to reshuffle him in order to fast track his New Deal Agric Policy. So, President Liman took over as the Minister for Finance and Economy Planning and appointed Dr Amon Nikoi as his Senior Economy Adviser for him to see to his two years Economy Recovery Program. He later on handed over to Professor George Benneh as the Minister for Finance and Economy Planning.

At this juncture, you may wish to be reminded of the differences between Finance and Economy (Economics) and what Economy Planning means. Finance is the management of money and includes activities such as investing, borrowing, lending, budgeting, saving, and forecasting. Finance is basically to provide money or credit for something. Finance focuses on financial systems and everything related such as banks, loans, investments and savings.

Economics on the other hand studies local or global markets, human behaviour in the provision and consumption (supply and demand) of goods and services based on the concept of both explicit cost and opportunity cost etc. Hence Finance and Economics are related, but not identical disciplines. Furthermore you may wish to appreciate the differences between Economic costs and Financial costs. Economic costs- is both the explicit cost (which is accounting cost or tangible expenses) and the opportunity cost (which is the loss of other alternatives when one alternative is chosen or use).

Economic costs includes the gains and losses in terms of money, time, and resources. Economic costs are the opportunity cost of resources that is the value of the highest-value alternative use, hence calls for the prioritization of one needs with limited resources. Let us study case in which a President through his Minister of Finance and Economy Planning has a limited amount of One billion Dollars or he or she borrowed same amount and is required to make a choice between Digitization/Digitalization agenda for or represented by a Digital National Ghana ID Card etc costing One billion Dollars that will be beneficial global economy, including mitigating of corrupt acts, as a tool for generating capital (funds), employment and some Interchanges at localized spots also costing One billion Dollars. The President through his Minister for Finance and Economy Planning has to weigh the issues and wise up and opt for value of the highest-value alternative use. So he has to consider the Financial costs or cost of finance and the payback or the returns on investment. So, the Financial Cost is the cost, interest, and other charges involved in the borrowing of money to build or purchase assets hence are resources that are paid for.

So, a Minister for Finance and Economy Planning must be seen borrowing money for the value of the highest-value alternative use, thus expected to finance the production sector especially the transformation and modernization of the Agricultural Sector through mechanization and Agricultural infrastructure (irrigation dams/mini-hydro power systems or roads/railways and necessary Service infrastructure (especially IT and Communication through the Digitization and Digitalization agenda capable of yielding revenue, more employment and the tourism sector) to improve and sustain the economy. As stated, to ensure the use of limited funds for the value of the highest-value alternative use, the late General Acheampong of the NLC and the late Ex-President Dr Liman of the PNP found themselves as Ministers for Finance and Economy Planning at a point in time to ensure no derailment of the OPERATION FEED THE NATION and NEW DEAL respectively which were basically the transformation and modernization of the Agricultural Sector agenda.

Another interesting case study was the speech made in Accra by Her Excellency President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania on how funds from the IMF/World Bank for mitigating the effects of COVID-19 pandemic were used. As the Risk Owner, (the buck stop with her as the President of Tanzania), Her Excellency President Samia Hassan of Tanzania took the risk by ensuring her Minister for Finance and Economy Planning invested a greater part of the Special Drawing Right (SDR) Money in social infrastructure like roads, etc education facilities, medical facilities (clinics and hospitals), housing, bore holes for permanent drinking water supply and some of it in the production sector to sustain or jump start the economy. Hmm, Ghana rather spent the over 3 Billion Dollars of the SDR from IMF/World Bank mainly on social stabilization or social-being including the provision of free water, free meals, free power, free other items, public Health including wrong or allegedly wasteful spraying of public spaces like markets, schools etc and not much was spent on social (services ) infrastructure like roads, etc education facilities, housing, bore holes for permanent drinking water supply, medical facilities (clinics and hospitals), it is anticipated that part of the funding of Agenda 111 Hospitals is from the 3 Billion Dollars of the SDR from IMF/World Bank , and not much in the production sector.

As stated the Ministry of Finance used to be known as Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. However, the 1992 Constitution ceded the Economic planning function to the National Development Planning Commission in view of Article 86 and 87 of the 1992 Constitution and leaving it as the Ministry of Finance which is expected to depend on the National Development Planning Commission for Economy Planning matters. The NDPC is headed by a Chairman appointed by the President with members including the Minister for Finance, the Government Statistician, the Governor for Bank of Ghana etc and must therefore be regarded as the Constitutional Economic Management Team. By section (2) of Article 87, Parliament has the responsibility to ensure good work by the NDPC (the real the Economic Management Team). So, the so much talked about Economic Management Team allegedly headed by the Vice President is conventional and alien to 1992 Constitution therefore has no locus in the Management of the Economy of Ghana and not answerable for any mismanagement of the Economy. By section (2) of Article 87 the President and Parliament should both be blamable for any mismanagement. The Members of Parliament since 1992 slept on their Job of oversight responsibility on the national purse and gave too much room to the Executive to be likely spendthrift.

Hence, the frequent incompetent and unwarranted attack on the competency of His Excellency Vice President Dr Bawumia or the Vice President of Ghana is not only Unconstitutional but unprofessional (erroneous) and may be regarded as intellectual dishonesty because he is not a member of the National Development Planning Commission nor the Minister for Finance. Once again, the Economic Management Team allegedly chaired by the VP if it really exist can therefore be said to be playing an Economic advisory role and their points are not binding to be executed by the Minister for Finance, hence it is a Coffee or Cocoa or Tea Drinking Party. Adding cost to cost.

The 1992 Constitution is very clear with the functions of the VP among others as part of a contingency or succession plan. It should also be noted that other functions of the VP as chairman of the Councils of the State Security Agencies (Defence, Police etc) were stripped in 1996 by Parliament by Act 527 of 1996. The VP need not to be an Economist or educated person hence Mama Akua Donkor is well qualified to be nominated as a VP. So we should be very happy with some of the good works of the sitting VP. It should be noted that the VP Dr Bawumia had a good reason for naming the members of the so called Economic Management Team of the NPP especially naming Hon Alan Cash because of maybe a secret agendum to defend himself in the future if accuse by the camp of Alan Cash and others.

It also be noted that VP Dr Bawumia was or is the first person who came out with the cacophonous Breaking the 8 mantra in February 2021 or so to psyche Ghanaians to accept the 2024 Presidential Election that is if NPP election. It is envisaged that His Excellency VP, Dr, Prophet Bawumia came out with this Breaking the 8 mantra may he envisaged that Ghana is sitting on a time bomb likely to be detonated in 2024, because His Excellency Ex-President JD Mahama, a man of high ego will not, I repeat will not accept a loss in the Presidential Election in three consecutive times. So Mr President, please reshuffle your Appointees to revitalize the Administration and the economy to ensure a clean victory for the NPP in 2024. The EC also must be guided by the dogma of Probity, Transparency and Accountability/fairness and inclusiveness to ensure a very credible 2024 Elections because sovereignty of Ghana resides with the People. So, God through the Citizenry will make the right choice in 2024. Sir, please provide sufficient funds to the National Identification Authority to do good work to ensure the use of Ghana Card for the 2024 Election. Also the State must use some incentives and not the type of pomposity of the Minister for Communication to get the people to also register when NIA is close to them. Effective and efficient Stakeholders engagement is required besides the funding. You are please urged to ensure this per your Oath of Office and the defence of the 1992 Constitution.

So, as far as the 1992 Constitution and the Laws of Ghana are concerned, the NDPC and the Ministry of Finance are expected to be jointly responsible for the Management of the Economy of Ghana thus the NDPC is the real Economic Management Team. Incidentally, the Minister for Finance is not or has never been compelled to implement all the deliberations of the National Development Planning Commission or the advice of the noisy Tea Drinking Party because the Minister of Finance is not required by the Constitution or a law to do so, Sir we need to have a second look on this.

It is therefore very sad that His Excellency Ex-President Mahama who is the most seasoned statesman of the land and some intellectuals who should know better and fight to ensure the right thing and restrict their attack rather to you and the Minister of Finance for the current woes of the Country. Otherwise they portray dishonest (misleading) intellectuals because the Government White paper from the administration of the late President Mills available to all, accepted some of the recommendations of the report of the Constitutional Review Commission for a comprehensive, National Development Planning Commission, but woefully (sadly) disagree with the CRC’s for a long term Strategic multi-year rolling National Development Plan Commission. So, the late President Mills did not agree with the CRC that: a) the provision for the development of the Plan should be entrenched. b) The Plan so developed, should be binding on all successive governments and enforceable at the instance of any person or institution, thus tying the hands of successive governments to the ideological interests and policies of a particular political party. He may be right. So we have a problem at hand that is contributing to the woes of the economy of Ghana.

Sir, looking at the composition of the NDPC and the way the economic politics or policies of the Country were/are done, for instance some projects not based on economic value but political value example the alleged free supply of power to Somanya. Prestea township in the Western Region until 2015 used to enjoy free power, it was not easy for me then the Head of Security as well as the current Community Affairs Manager for the Bogoso Mine to disconnect Prestea from the Mine Source of power to halt the huge power bill paid by the Mine because they had the Power from the defunct Prestea Gold Resources (the underground Mine which was taking over by the Bogoso Mine.

We also have problems of national projects at a wrong time (example the National Cathedral) and or projects at wrong locations (example the Komenda Sugar Production Series and other infrastructures). So, one may be tempted to agree with the late President Mills that the Plans by NDPC should not be entrenched or binding on all successive administrations of Government but rather successive administrations of Government should as far as possible endeavour to continue with the projects and policies of previous regimes upon good evaluation. But Sir, in line with Proverb 27:23 that investment in Agricultural Sector is the way to ensure self-sufficiency or survival hence Agriculture is regarded as the engine of economic and social growth therefore growth of GDP, for development and job creation, I therefore recommended that provisions should be made for all stakeholders to deliberate and come out with a long term National Agriculture Policy say 6 years strategy for maximization of rice production as import substitution through the adherence of the Maputo declaration of 10% budgetary allocation to the Agric Sector which should be the plan binding across regimes. That is to say it must be binding on all successive administrations of Government to ensure coherent National Agricultural Policy with sufficient funding as a binding national development plan across regimes.

Unfortunately, the national development plan of Ghana has never been or is not required to be consistent, it rather changes with a change in administration but the plan may be coterminous with the Presidency (government) of the day if it wins a second tenure of office but not more than 8 years is the maximum tenure of Office for a President, hence abandonment of policies and projects are the end results with Ghana as the loser. Worse of all, since the Plan of the NDPC is not binding, the management of the economy is done at the whims and caprices of a Finance Minister especially when the President sees nothing wrong. Hmm, Sir an arrogant, seemingly greediness and uncooperative Minister of Finance can therefore be a big problem for Ghana.

I am afraid the current Minister for Finance is seemed to exhibit arrogant traits. His verbal attack on the International analysts on the initial credit rating of the economy, failure for a wider consultation on the PDS, E-levy, Agyapa Royalties, failure to appreciate the economic state affairs and opt for an earlier arrangement for the bail out from the IMF and the inactions of the Minister of Finance has contributed greatly to the current problem faced by Ghana. Hence, we will attribute the alleged economic mismanagement to you because the buck stop with the President. So he need a Minister with Economic background who can rally all on deck for ways to salvage the economy with a junk grading. You may appoint him as the Minister for Religious Affairs to see to our National Cathedral etc.

It is widely claimed that the national development policy of a developing nation should be contingent on agriculture in order to stimulate economic growth sustain and create more employment and mitigate poverty, so to ensure it maintains its established role of making massive job creation (employment), social stabilization, and stabilizing inflation, ensuring food security, supply of primary inputs to the other sectors and for foreign exchange earnings more investment needed. But the statistics from GSS has revealed the dwindling or fluctuating of the Agricultural sector which has a multiplier effect and a great influence on any nation’s socio-economic fabric and industrial sector as an important stimulus for successful industrialization due to the multifunctional nature of the agriculture sector. But the Agricultural sector which use to be the leading sector is unfortunately lacking behind the other two Sectors with the Service Sector leading. Thus, there is the urgent need to provide adequate budgetary allocation as per the 2003 Maputo declaration and a highly competent and commitment personnel with less bureaucratic tendencies (too much seminars or paperwork and tea drinking parties).

Sir, Statistics from GSS show that the performance of the Minister of Agriculture is satisfactory but the situation on the ground seemed to speak differently. Reports indicated that he has some arrogant posture and has failed to collaborate with the Poultry Farmers Association to maximize poultry production as alleged by the President of the Association. Furthermore, it is alleged that we are heading towards a likely food insecurity, and nothing is being done by him therefore you (the buck stop with the President) are to galvanize the citizenry through proclamation in the traditional media of radio and TV to undertake OPERATION FEED YOURSELF or NATION and OPERATION FEED THE AGRO-INDUSTRY.

Thanks to the Almighty God, the Minister of Agriculture wants to occupy your seat, so, you friend has given you a good reason or fine case to reshuffle him. So, use this ambition of his to thank him for his good work and get a dynamic person as the Minister of Agriculture. I recommend a Military Officer of the rank not below Major and appoint Hon Mr Abraham Odoom as his Consultant and provide them with at least 10% of the budgetary expenditure or allocation with a target set up for each region for the cultivation of Rice as import substitution and the promotion of the production of maize other food crops and the Cash crops for both local industries.

It is also important to promote the massive production of non-traditional export crops such as pineapples, mangoes, cashew nuts and vegetables to as part of the effort to reduce reliance on traditional export commodities, particularly cocoa.

Signed

Major Mohammed Bogobiri (Rtd)