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2012 BUDGET STATEMENT: SCIENCE OF ECONOMICS OR PARTISAN POLITICS

Feature Article 2012 BUDGET STATEMENT: SCIENCE OF ECONOMICS OR PARTISAN POLITICS
NOV 20, 2011 LISTEN

I have been inundated with calls and messages from several scores of friends to state my position on the 2012 fiscal policy of Ghana presented in parliament by the Hounourable Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffour on the 16th day of November, 2011. I ordinarily would not have loved to wade into the predictable straightjacketed partisan ritual of christening the budget as either hopeful or the lack of it, depending on which of the divides you belong. According to the ruling NDC, the budget is the most efficacious pill required to get on track, the sick Ghanaian economy, and to propel it to a level consistent with the better Ghana agenda. On their part, the NPP and some minor opposition parties have characterized it as empty and visionless. In the words of the NPP, it is a „bye bye budget‟ as it marks the end of the first and possibly the last term of his Excellency, President J. E .A Mills administration.

One would have thought that policy statements that provide direction for the country should not generate any partisan debate and discussion as long as these policies reflect the needs, values and the aspirations of the good people of Ghana. As important as development is to Ghana, it was my expectation, and perhaps expectations of many good people of Ghana that any policy statement such as the fiscal policy presented last week should have been delivered with all partisan political biases in parenthesis. In the light of this, the Finance Minister should have been seen as a technocrat whose job it was to deliver the message to the peoples representatives devoid of all partisan political undercurrents. However, the partisan posturing of Dr. Kwabena Duffour, particularly at the dying embers of his over 2-hour presentation was to say the least highly unfortunate. The Minister suddenly turned a partisan praise singer with his discordant “we promised and we have delivered” lyrics.

Most of the claims of the minister are sustained by weak and confused examples. The much touted better performance of the service industry, at the tragic expense of the agricultural sector is painful. The service sector is dominated by western hegemony which commonsensically suggest that development in the area is tantamount to State-aided capital flight. The telecommunication industries, hospitality, banking, among others, are all areas monopolized by western interests. I think that the time has come for African governments to commit more resources and support to develop areas where they command competitive advantage. If we stay committed to the agricultural sector and start irrigation projects, mechanization, research and other activities geared towards revamping the sector, we will be empowering the indigenous people who will contribute to the economic development of the country. We should not be chasing after the shadows of the west, for they have developed their areas of strengths. It is sad that we almost always follow their self-serving dictates and unsuspectingly buy into their development mantra. Those development partners or donor agencies that have consistently been thinking for Africa and claiming to offer accurate diagnosis for our problems, also have a stake in the solution of all diagnosed problems. The diagnosis is always tied to their economic and political interest.

If the Minister's praise songs were not intended for unnecessary political mischief, why didn't he tell us whether the Volta university promise has been achieved; whether the 'gang of 4' projects are on course; whether the Brong Ahafo university is achieved; whether the one time premium for NHIS has been achieved; and whether offices for Members of Parliament in their constituencies as contained in the 2011 budget are on course. What about the promise of 'job 600 project' and the STX projects which remain on the drawing board. It is important that we take conscious effort to repair our national discourse rather than politicizing every national issue in our attempt to please the so-called development partners of the West. The Finance Minister could have spared Ghanaians of the pleasant platitudes and the staggering burden of this needless partisan propaganda. Politicians in Ghana should be reminded that demagoguering is not an element of democracy; they should be seen to solving the teething problems of the masses rather than explaining them. Ghanaians are tired of the political recriminations; we demand practical and realistic measures that can take the majority that are poor from the doldrums of poverty. Budget statements should not be regarded as a mere official annual propaganda ritual; instead, they should be seen as prescribing reliable, non-partisan, workable solutions to the many avoidable economic pains that trouble us. Indeed, the behaviour of the ruling NDC appears to demonstrate that economics is no science but partisan politics in disguise.

Nana Akwasi Adjei Baffour
[email protected]

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