Former President John Dramani Mahama has urged the Akufo-Addo government to admit their inability to resolve all economic challenges and seek external help as “two heads are better than one”.
According to John Mahama, admitting one’s shortcomings and asking for help “does not take away from your dignity, but adds to your credibility, when you create a consultative process that forges a consensus and allows a nation to move forward”.
His advice comes at a time the Ghana cedi is falling at an alarming rate which has become a topical issue among the general public, particularly, the business class.
Economists have called on the government to implement working policies to stabilize the cedi with Nii Moi Thompson suggesting a National Economic Forum to generate a discussion and seek experts views on how to sustainably stabilize the currency.
Mahama in a Facebook post confessed that his administration faced challenges with the economy and had to make a crucial decision to solve such.
“I faced one such decision point as President in 2014. The 3-day Senchi Economic Forum was held in May 2014. It was a broad consultative process and even though it was boycotted by the opposition NPP, it achieved its objective of producing the famous Senchi Report which contributed to the Homegrown Fiscal Consolidation Programme,” the former President recalled.
He is convinced the current NPP government is confronted with similar challenges, hence the time to consult experts for advice on restoring the economy.
The NDC Presidential candidate for 2020 elections said, “This administration is probably at such a decision point. The recent free fall of the cedi against all major foreign currencies, may be exposing a deeper malaise in the “fundamentals of the economy”. It may serve Akufo-Addo/Bawumia and their economic team well to own up to their shortcomings and call a Senchi type stakeholder forum on the economy.”
Read Mahama’s Facebook post below
There is a much hackneyed saying, “two heads are better than one”.
There are times when a leader or a party must admit that they do not have all the answers to the challenges facing the economy or a particular sector. At such times, it does not take away from your dignity, but adds to your credibility, when you create a consultative process that forges a consensus and allows a nation to move forward.
I faced one such decision point as President in 2014. The 3-day Senchi Economic Forum was held in May 2014.
It was a broad consultative process and even though it was boycotted by the opposition NPP, it achieved its objective of producing the famous Senchi Report which contributed to the Homegrown Fiscal Consolidation Programme.
This Homegrown Fiscal Programme led eventually to the ECF with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and resulted in one of the most stable periods in Ghana’s economic history in 2016, with the cedi being one of the best performing African currencies.
This administration is probably at such a decision point. The recent free fall of the cedi against all major foreign currencies, may be exposing a deeper malaise in the “fundamentals of the economy”.
It may serve Akufo-Addo/Bawumia and their economic team well to own up to their shortcomings and call a Senchi type stakeholder forum on the economy.
