According to Professor John Gatsi, Dean of Business School of the University of Cape Coast, the government of Ghana, most specifically the Finance Ministry is clueless of what is happening in the country.
He said if the government was in Ghana just like the ordinary Ghanaian then the Finance Minister would not have the guts to say the Cedi is strong despite the complaints by business people and the general public.
Prof. John Gatsi was reacting to the claim by that Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam that the Ghanaian Cedi is strong and would even improve by the end of the year. Amin Adam made the statement during the Ministry of Finance Monthly Update on May 24.
“I am not sure he [Dr Mohammed Amin Adam] is talking to Ghanaians and Ghanaian business people and individuals. We do know that we are all crying about the performance of the Cedi. It is actually escalating cost of doing business, it is escalating cost of importation, impacting on price development in the country. It is making the execution of contracts overpriced for government.”
Prof Gatsi added that the weak Cedi has increased the country’s debt portfolio and cannot be said to be better performance as insinuated by the Minister.
“It has increased the debt portfolio of the country and therefore these performances cannot be a robust performance, cannot be a better performance but this is a performance that actually spells woes of the Ghanaian economy.”
He also questioned if stating that the Cedi is strong is the solution to the complaints by GUTA and others in the business world.
“When GUTA and co are talking about the challenges that they are facing, the cost implications of the Cedi to them, you only come to tell them that the Cedi is very strong, is that the answer to their plights? So that’s why I’m saying that he is not speaking to Ghanaians.”
Prof John Gatsi added that the mind of the government is detached from realities and thus unable to empathize with the suffering masses. He said a sensitive government would have reasoned with the people especially that people have openly called for a stakeholders forum to dialogue and find solutions.
“I think their mind is far away from the realities that people are facing. If you are a serious government, you don’t come to tell people who are crying, calling upon you…can we have a meeting so we can have a stakeholder dialogue to see what we can do together to give some strength and stability to the Cedi? You don’t come to tell them that this Cedi you are complaining about is very strong. You don’t do that. It means that you are not in sync with the reality. It means that you don’t care about what they are going through, you have given up,” he said on Midday News on 3FM.
