Economist and Lecturer at Academic City University, Dr Paul Appiah-Konadu has urged the government to develop the discipline of managing the economy responsibly without having to rely on the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Speaking about Ghana’s economy, Dr Appiah-Konadu highlighted that Ghana’s recent economic stability must be used as a foundation to build a resilient economy capable of withstanding external shocks.
“we have achieved stability, but we need to do more in terms of expanding the economy to create jobs, add value to our raw material exports and to create a more resilient economy that will be insulated from external shocks,” he said.
Dr Appiah-Konadu compared Ghana’s relationship with the IMF to that of a young person who has become financially independent but remains afraid to take responsibility for personal expenses emphasizing that even with that Ghana must still learn to maintain fiscal discipline even when the IMF is no longer directly supervising its economic policies.
According to him, the country raises significant revenue but continues to struggle because of uncontrolled expenditure.
He therefore called for stronger domestic revenue mobilisation, expenditure control and an end to corruption and inflated project costs.
The economist also urged the government to ensure value for money in public spending and strengthen institutions responsible for monitoring government expenditure.
He stressed that Ghana’s economic gains could be undermined if the country fails to address structural weaknesses and external shocks.
Dr Appiah-Konadu maintained that the ultimate goal should be an economy that can sustain fiscal discipline and economic growth regardless of whether the IMF is present or not.
He therefore urged government to use the current period of stability to implement reforms that will expand the productive capacity of the economy, create jobs and reduce the country’s vulnerability to external economic pressures.
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