- The country director of the World Bank, Pierre Laporte predicts Ghana will face a tough time in its bid towards restoring macro-economic sustainability.
- Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh has said although there is the need to raise more revenue domestically, the government has been profligate in its expenditure.
- “…I do think that people don’t like it when you say that 'we’re broke and we don’t have enough money' and yet they see things like 30 V8s and on one trip to the Upper East Region, we were in Techiman and we got off the road because of the sheer number of vehicles that were coming; we counted 35 V8s. When you turn around with that kind of a display of profligacy and you come and tell the people, 'you’ll need to give us more money'; they will be like 'ah, to feed this lifestyle?'”
The executive director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh has decried the rate of recklessness in government’s expenditure over the years.
Prempeh said although there is the need to raise more revenue domestically, the government has been profligate in its spending.
He maintains that the citizens must feel confident in the ability of the government to judiciously make use of revenue collected before they can be willing to contribute more.
“We need to raise more revenue but if the people also feel that ‘well, you’re not actually being judicious in your spending’, there’s a lot of profligacy in spending so, a lot of people cannot understand why a disproportionate amount of the money we earn in taxes, goes into payroll,” the CDD-Ghana boss said on Asaase Radio’s The Big Bulletin.
He added: “…I do think that people don’t like it when you say that ‘we’re broke and we don’t have enough money’ and yet they see things like 30 V8s and on one trip to the Upper East Region, we were in Techiman and we got off the road because of the sheer number of vehicles that were coming; we counted 35 V8s. When you turn around with that kind of a display of profligacy and you come and tell the people, ‘you’ll need to give us more money’; they will be like ‘ah, to feed this lifestyle?’”
Economic hardship
“I don’t think you should trivialise people’s reaction to it [economic hardship]. The economic hardship is not just being felt by the government. I mean, the way the government is behaving, sometimes it is almost as if the government is the only one facing economic hardship. The people are facing economic hardship and at least the people are flesh and blood,” he added.
Listen to Prof Prempeh in the attached audio below:
Ghana’s economic situation very serious
The World Bank has admonished the government of Ghana to remain transparent with citizens of the country’s current economic situation.
The country director of the World Bank, Pierre Laporte predicts Ghana will face a tough time in its bid towards restoring macro-economic sustainability.
Speaking at a public lecture organised by the OneGhana Movement on Monday (7 March), the World Bank country director described Ghana’s economic situation as ‘very serious’.
“Is it a really serious situation? Well, the numbers speak for themselves. The situation is very serious. At the World Bank, we’ve not hidden the fact when we’ve held discussions with the government officials and even the head of state that Ghana faces a very tough road ahead to restore macro sustainability.”
“…Yes, COVID-19 has not helped. But even before COVID-19, there were signs that the situation was getting a little bit challenging. So, the key thing is to be transparent with the people. Yes, the figures speak for themselves, but not everybody is as educated as we are. Not everyone understands what the numbers mean, so it is important to talk about it like we are doing. More important is for us to find solutions for the problem,” he added.
Nicholas Brown
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