It is very sad and unfortunate that some PhD holders will limit the management of the modern economy in the contemporary world to only indicators such as Gross domestic product (GDP), inflation rate, interest rate, exchange rate, debt to GDP ratio, gross international reserves and commodity prices.
Quickly, let’s turn to Dr Kobby Mensah, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business school (UGBS). In recent times, he has offered a number of criticisms pertaining to the management of the economy.
Constructive criticisms others describe them. Well said and done. But I am also at liberty to subject Dr Kobby Mensah’s opinion to strict proof.
In one of his criticisms, the Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business school (UGBS) suffices to say that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia left the economic platform a long time ago, and he doesn’t talk about the economy anymore.
With all due respect, Dr. Kobby Mensah has woefully failed to understand and appreciate the systems and architecture that make the economy healthy.
How do you build an economy if there are no established proper systems in place?
How do you build an economy with the mindset of only focusing on buying and selling?
How do you build an economy when the economic architecture inherited from NDC administration was very porous?
Any well-meaning and level-headed person will appreciate that one has to get the established systems right and change the porous economic architecture before it will become possible to create a booming economy for any country.
In the advanced economic countries, one of the key factors of their success is that the systems work 24/7 largely due to technological driven policies preferably called Digitization and Digitalization concepts.
In the advanced economic countries, people work all day all night to earn daily wages/salaries unlike in Ghana and some other countries where we only work from Mondays to Fridays between 8am to 5pm and sometimes Saturdays between approximately 8:00am to 2:00pm. The rest of the hours are wasted on unnecessary unproductive things or issues.
Stricto sensu, Dr. Kobby Mensah must get it clear that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the Head of the Economic Management team of the country has not left the economic platform. The Vice President is still solidly on the economic platform.
He is just being proactive with the economic management of the country and to catch up with fast-developing countries.
Why should the Vice President still waste time on these indicators when the records show the country is significantly performing well?
Even in the face of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on economic growth, does Dr. Kobby Mensah know that at the macroeconomic level, inflation in Ghana today at 12.2% is lower than it was in 2016 (15.4%)?
Does Dr. Kobby Mensah know the average exchange rate depreciation over the last four years (7.3%) is the lowest for any first-term government since 1992?
Does Dr. Kobby Mensah know Gross International Reserves are at $10.8 billion (4.9 months of import cover) compared to $6.9 billion (3.5 months of import cover) in 2016? Does Dr. Kobby Mensah know lending rates in Ghana today (21%) are much lower than they were in 2016 (32%)? Does Dr. Kobby Mensah know the year 2020 recorded one of the lowest rates of depreciation in the last 28 years?
The Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business school must know that the world is a global village so when one problem is solved, then we have to move on to another to be on a par with the rate of globalization.
With regards to taxation to production, Akufo-Addo’s/Bawumia over the last five years has fully committed itself to ensuring that Ghana moves away from sole dependence on taxation for national development.
To achieve this goal, deliberate pragmatic policies and programmes such as 1D1F, Planting for Foods and Jobs, Rearing for food and jobs have been implemented by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government.
Dr. Kobby Mensah, do you now realize why Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is championing the digital economy? This is to also ensure that we have the right established systems and economic architecture to support the indicators of the economy.
Again, what is the point in talking about GDP, inflation rate, interest rate, exchange rate if the systems and economic architecture inherited from the previous administration are not fixed by the NPP government?
The backbone and lifeblood of the USA, UK, Germany, Japan, China, and other well-advanced economic countries is TECHNOLOGY (Digitalization and Digitization).
And that is exactly what Dr. Bawumia and the economic management team of Akufo-Addo’s Government seek to achieve for the good people of Ghana.
In the contemporary world, you can never discuss the economy in general without technology, mainly digitalization and digitization.
Currently, Tech/Digital Entrepreneurs control the financial fortune and economic power of the world, from Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Jack Ma etc.
Dr. Kobby Mensah needs to understand that in the modern economy, a country can have all the natural resources but without the appropriate technology, those natural resources shall amount to nothing to the overall economy of that particular country, and before Akufo-Addo’s government, that was the unfortunate situation Mahama John has saddled the country with.
How effective and efficient can GEA, MASLOC, NEIP, Banks and financial institutions offer loans, credit facilities, financial solutions or help to entrepreneurs and the business community if there are no trustworthy identification and address systems?
How do governments and policy makers plan effectively and efficiently if there is no accurate data of the people, natural resources etc. ?
Dr. Kobby Mensah, how would you effectively and efficiently teach your students if there are no academic or research materials, learning board, makers, PA. system if large class, and internet more especially during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis?
