The Science Of ‘Terkpernomics’ Lacks Economic Credence

Introduction
The ultimate purpose of this paper is to assess and evaluate almost the four years economic actions of the Minister of Finance under the constitutional obligation of the Republic of Ghana with the major reason that the contemporary politico-economic management of every state in modern world order, depends strictly on the following key players to cause a meaningful transformation in the economic welfare of the people.

This does not necessarily devalue other sectors created for economic development of a “State” but argues that its role is complimentary to assist the key players.

This paper seeks to arrange in their order of importance of economic transformation key players, in modern global economic order as follows

1. The Office of the President
2. The Office of the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning
3. The Office of the Minister of Trade and Industry
4. The Legislative and Judicial system

This order of arrangement is likely to be debated by constitutional activists of the republic of Ghana in opinionated line of argument but this analytical argument is presented beyond the geo-political hemisphere of Ghana due to the line of knowledge contribution, it seeks to share and further brings consciousness on the continent of Africa.

The major focus of this paper is to scientifically assess and evaluate the management of finance and economic affairs of the Republic State of Ghana, and deduce if such module of the Finance Minister worth repetition of such practice under economic science for posterity studies and for it to be further kept in the library of Pan-African University of Higher learning.

Even though previous ministers until today had never been placed on such scale of scientific analysis, but their works are purely assessed by the court of public oral analysis not mostly documented, I however, presume this paper could pave a new pathway to evaluate the key managers of the financial market of Ghana from one government’s regime to the other, since this office has a lot to contribute to a rich historic record to the economic management & planning of the political economy of a State.

The scientific objective, this paper is seeking to establish through critical examination, is to deduce whether the Minister of Finance has command over the Economic Management & Planning of the State through his policies and actions or “not”.

This will be analyzed based on present Press Release from the Ministry themed “The Turn Around Story” of Ghana’s Economy on the 9th February, 2016.

The Table below, defined as Fig. X1; draw in summary, the revenue data of the republic of Ghana under Minister Terkper from 2012 to 2014 as the bases of our parameters set up to analyze his operations.

Fig. X1
GOVERNMENT REVENUE

Fig. X 2
GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE

Fig X3.
NET INCOME OF REPUBLIC OF GHANA

SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS

1. Analyzing from Fig. X2 indicates that Wages & Salaries was in a trend of decline from 2012 downward on the grounds of fiscal discipline and the question raised is, do we need IMF orders to cause the Finance Ministry to lead in the reduction of deficit of GDP from 11.5% of 2012 to 7.0% in 2015. It also has to be made clear that studies depict that reduction of the deficit of GDP was not necessarily as a result of Industrial performance to GDP growth of Ghana but government expenditure cut-down from some sectors of the economy, which under sound economic reasoning is counterproductive on a medium and long term basis.
2. It is further studied by this paper that, there is a scientific relation of grant offer and policy construction influences on the recipient through our phenomenological research methodology applied, and the findings deduce a direct proportional relation. It therefore confirms that the rise of grants offer from 2012 to 2015 as figure Fig.X2 Indicate above to consolidate the expenditure budget has a higher susceptibility to external policy influences in the economic planning and transformation of the State.
3. Further critical studies in data report of the Ministry of Finance starting from 2012 up to 2016, lack a scientific correlation of wages & salary investment and its corresponding productivity impact. To the extent that the “State” has to suffer from wages arrears to the tune of GHC1,809.1million from 2012 to 2014 but lacked corresponding productivity assessment report to that effect.
4. Per the Fig. X2, it indicates that the “State” further accrued debt on Goods & Services to the Civil servants of the Republic of Ghana at a tune of GHC1,339.6million from 2012 to 2014 yet lacked correlation data report of how such investments had translated to economic efficiency in productive wise.
5. Quoting from the report of Hon. Terkper under the caption, GHANA- THE TURN AROUND STORY” 9^th February, 2016, it states “The Implementation of IMF three years extended credit facility and related structural reforms, is improving credibility in the budget and providing confidence”. This analytical study, is a clear sign of failure on the part of the minister in control of economic management and planning affairs of the Republic State of Ghana.

PROPOSED QUALITIES OF A FINANCE MINISTER IN CONTROL OF ITS DOMESTIC ECONOMY

1. Globally, Finance & Economic Planning Ministers are known to be very influential when they are very active in domestic construction of credible policies and its effective implementations beyond the normal account balance sheet business of the finance ministry. Therefore a special method was adopted to measure policy performance of the Finance Minister from the date he took up that office to the present date of 2016. Probability sampling methods was used to select economic experts that are not politically identified but perform their academic and intellectual duties according to the accepted standard of the science society in Ghana. The findings from the data report indicate that the efficiency of the Ministry through its investment and policy scored 22%, as a performance assessment test.

The ultimate interest of this paper is to further analyze two thematic areas defined by the Economic science community of Ghana to be a total failure in performance of this Ministry as follows:

• Lack of credible policy to check the correlation of investment and efficiency of labour to the market
• Lack of credible policy that creates a domestic private sector very competitive to qualify for government and private sector partnerships.

• 2. Under which economic science do we expect a policy that causes tariff increment on Electricity & Water in a percentage of 59.2 and 67.2 respectively, excluding double taxations on domestic businesses, with an increase of the base rate of the Central Bank of Ghana at 100 basis point to 26%; Finally government’s further competition with the domestic industry for capital in the narrow domestic capital market to satisfy its unlimited borrowing with the economy suffering from inflation rate of 19.0% as at January 2016 and the Ghana currency econometrically projected to be suffering from depreciation of 4-5% to the dollar in this same year. Furthermore noted to have establish the petroleum tax of 33% per litre, diesel of 40% per litre and LPG 22% per kg in the same year. This is just an abuse of Keynesian formula in economic management application and cruel manner to make the soil of Ghana unfertile for enterprise growth and successful investment of ideas to become viable ventures.

3. Measuring the liquidity ratio of the Ghana market from the Central Bank perspective is very low, yet the Ministry of Finance continuous pushing in all kinds of policies, which has all the characteristics to kill domestic businesses and promote capital import a deliberate means of selling the economy of Ghana out to external capitalist is enough to Judge the economic management prudence of Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning under the Science of ‘Terkpernomics” to be questionable for realistic economic transformation message they seem to carry and persuade the citizens to believe in a bright future. Which lack a clear scientific economic basis to accept the promise of better future they seek to propose through the Ministry of finance by their publication GHANA ECONOMY TURN AROUND early February 2016.

4. Under this science, it could never restore and correct unemployment challenges both in short, medium and long term in Ghana unless there is a total change in this kind of economic module.

5. Hence this style of policy direction scientifically never establishes any interest of economic welfare for the people with clear indicators of empowerment through microeconomic fundamental developments.

THE EXTENT OF MACROECONOMIC FORCES JEOPARDIZING TRADE & INDUSTRY

Fig. X3.

The figure X3 above, defines the extent and the measuring effect of this macroeconomic forces on the market as experienced by the private sector both formal and informal report, through non-probability sampling method.

A contemporary African economy that lacks a private sector support will lack economic welfare structures to the benefit of the masses on a sustainable ground.

All this economic deficiency in the science of Terkpernomics, causes this paper to confidently deduce that it lack the economic credence and could never be trusted whatsoever, in any oral promise from his office on the theme ‘Turning Around Ghana’s Economy For The Better,’ with this kind of economic module.

E. Tweneboah Senzu, DBA., Ph.D.
Research Professor of African School of Economics

Director of Finance & Economic Planning Kilombo Centre of Education, HQ. UK

Policy Analyst and Research Fellow Bastiat Ghana Institute

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