It is impossible to cover all the myriads of society’s challenges but we need to give up our best, and optimise resource utilisation to achieve the welfare of the masses.
The emerging high level of society’s economic inequality is not compatible with democracy. These inequalities are gradual building blocks for instability in the near future. Our Gini Co-efficient as a country rose from 0.35 in 2012 to 0.46 in 2016. A Gini of 0 indicates a highly equal society. The Scandinavians can get around near zero. China’s is around 0.40, and the CCP hastily called for common prosperity as Mao declared in 1947 because they understand the dangers and threat that an increasing unequal society can cause. Ghana’s recent history over the last 40 years demonstrates a good example, especially 1979.
Anthony Blinken, the present US Secretary of State, discussing US-China relationship, said, and I paraphrase: “US-China relationship should be collaborative when it must be, competitive when it should be and adversarial when it can be. This is what must be the relationship between NDC and NPP for the country’s development (E-levy debate – a typical example of poor cooperation for the national interest). The insulting nature and supposed adversarial attitude between the supporters of both parties must cease. The party and political leadership of both NDC and NPP are very good friends and business partners and must convey such relationship downward. Why must elections be do or die in Africa. It was lovely watching the Arizona and Georgia recount where both democrats and republicans were sharing biscuits and drinking tea together. National interest must be devoid of partisan politics. Will we ever have that in our body politic?
Theory of behaviour is the heartland of economics. If Ghana wants our economy to improve, the recommendations above, when well-implemented becomes a confluence of factors that improve society. Most of the recommendations outlined are not supposed to be additional cost layer to the state. Not at all. All are sort of interlinked, interfaced and reinforcement of each other to yield right results.
Moreover, the Chicago School Economics stuff must be measured in practice in Ghana. Milton Freidman theories and practices suited the western liberal and self-centred culture. Ours is more collective and clan culture type. We need to get pragmatic and assist the very deprived and get them out of their less privileged situation. It will take a thesis to explain this deeply, but a typical analogy of Africans practising hook line sinker western systems is what we are seeing in Afghanistan and Iraq that the US failed miserably to chart a solution for them without a guidance on the people’s history, culture and distinctive characteristics. Ours in Ghana is the same; with Ghana practising variants of western governance, legal, social, political and economic system hook line sinker without valuing our own cultural, social, traditional values; yet our society has not significantly transformed since independence. The next major article looks at these challenges and whether our economy is Unbalanced? Uncoordinated? Unsustainable?
Kwamina is an experienced financial and credit analyst with over 10 years in advanced commercial lending and bankside experience
