Let’s avoid economic mistakes of the past – Prof. Adei advises

Professor Stephen Adei, a former Board Chair of the Ghana Revenue Authority, has attributed the current economic crisis to a raft of factors he believes have played a significant role.

According to Professor Adei, fundamental weaknesses in the economy include low productivity, systematic corruption, a lack of patriotism, a desire for foreign goods, and others.

The former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), says governments must learn from these difficult times.

“It is true that during the domestic debt exchange, those who were campaigning so that individuals do not accept it came out very strong on how expenditure can be reduced, and I agree with them. Government can manage the economy with less. We should be able to make our intentions so that we can avoid the lessons of the past.”

He maintains the blame game between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) does not solve any problems.

“I do not want to make pronouncements as to whether Akufo-Addo government is worse or better than the Mahama government. I think that there is a situation that makes the comparison to apples and oranges because both of them took us to IMF.”

Earlier this week, Prof. Adei took a dig at the Akufo-Addo government for its excessive borrowing which he says is the cause of the country’s economic crisis.

According to the renowned economist, although the emergence of COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war may have affected Ghana’s economy, the fundamental mistake government made was to have borrowed beyond its capacity.

He is thus calling on the government to accept responsibility and work to change the fortunes of the country.

Professor Adei said this when he addressed journalists on the sidelines of the Signature Market Pre-launch campaign at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

“I think the biggest mistake they made is that they borrowed beyond our capacity to service it. If you are a country and you borrow beyond your capacity, you will be in trouble, of course, COVID-19 came in, and the Russia-Ukraine [war].

Professor Adei also wants Ghanaians to strictly hold government officials accountable to prevent a similar situation in future.

“We have to learn and not repeat our mistakes by going on a borrowing spree, we should become watchdogs. The leakages should be reduced, the level of corruption, the wastage from the government after government is high so we don’t get value for money,” he stated.