By Amos SAFO
Last week, President John Dramani Mahama constituted a powerful team of economists and technocrats to develop a framework for another National Economic Dialogue.
The dialogue is expected to agree roadmap to reset the economy as he promised he promised during the election campaign.
However, while the team is yet to release the details of the forum, several Ghanaians have described it as diversionary, time buying and a potential waste of the taxpayers money. Critics of President Mahama argue that the first economic dialogue held at Senchi in the Eastern Region was a flop and a drain on the scare national resources.
Perhaps, their criticism is based on the fact that barely year after the dialogue, the first Mahama administration stashed the recommendations and run to the IMF with cup in hand to beg for policy credibility. This was after President Mahama loudly proclaimed that his government had “eaten meat and left the bones.”
In May 2014, a National Economic Forum was held in Senchi, with the aim of reaching a common understanding and agreement over challenges that faced the economy and how best to address them.
The primary concern in 2014 was how to manage the large budget and current account deficits, which were putting pressure on the cedi, as well as increasing government debt.
Sadly, after the much-maligned forum, very little, if any policy implementation took place. Rather the government surrendered the interests of the country to the IMF for a mere $900 million dollars.
The result of the policy credibility was a net freeze on employment in the public sector to the extent that even essential sectors like health and education could not employ new staff to fill the widen gap. This was the era when the unemployed graduate’s association was officially inaugurated in Ghana.
Duplication
Some economic analysts, including Dr. George Domfeh of the University of Ghana argue that there is no need for another economic dialogue because the country already has an economic blueprint which was developed by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC). The NDPC is a constitutional body under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, which has the mandate to develop a national economic vision for the country.
The NDPC is financed with the taxpayers’ money to deliver its mandate, but over the years successive governments have failed to implement its economic plans. Rather the governments have used their campaign manifestoes as a blueprint for national development.
This explains why projects of an outgoing government are quickly abandoned by an incoming government without any apology. This lack of economic direction and the marginalization of the work of the NDPC is nothing, but a waste of the taxpayers’ money.
Vision 2057
The latest National Development policy titled ‘Vision 2057 was published last year (2024) by the NDPC. Vision 2057 is the most comprehensive and progressive economic policy I have read in recent years.
The objective of the policy is that by the time Ghana turns 100 years in 2057 there should be massive socio-economic development across the country, including human capital development. Its overall goal is to “improve the living standards of Ghanaians and attain an upper middle-income country status.”
Moreover, the vision envisages, “a free, just, prosperous, and self-reliant nation which secures the welfare and happiness of its citizens, while playing a leading role in international affairs.”
However, realizing the national goal of social and economic development is based on the condition that current and future governments will adopt and implement the policy as a national priority.
Drivers of transformation
The Vision points out that in pursuit of Ghana’s long-term vision, several critical drivers of transformation must be addressed. These include achieving and sustaining macro-economic stability and fostering an enabling attitudinal culture for sustainable social cohesion, peace, and security.
Additionally, effective and efficient public service, institutional strengthening, human capital development, science, technology, innovation, land reforms, sustainable infrastructural development, and transitioning towards clean, affordable, and sustainable energy are some of the necessary conditions for realising Ghana’s proposed future.
Stable macroeconomy
The Vision underscores the fact that a stable macroeconomic environment will stimulate the attainment of a single-digit inflation stable currency, low interest rates, and trade and fiscal surpluses.
It is expected that this congenital environment will boost economic growth, ensure affordable and accessible credit, especially for micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs), and maintain a stable and resilient financial sector.
Besides, a strong, socially responsible, vibrant and internationally competitive private sector, operating in a stable macroeconomic environment sustained by innovation is envisaged.
Human capital development
Moreover, the Vision notes that a well-developed human capital is required to accelerate national development as part of a broader strategy to fight poverty and reduce inequality permanently.
This focuses on building a healthy, highly skilled, and ingenious labour force. Further steps include strengthening the formal economy while reducing the informal to the barest minimum; ensuring quality technical and training institutions in addition to enhancing cooperation between industry and educational institutions.
A key step should be a strategic integration of primary, secondary, tertiary and technical/vocational education. A driving force behind the long-term development of Ghana should be a productivity revolution that will ensure the efficient use of the country’s natural and human resources, with less impact on the environment.
Science, technology and innovation
Furthermore, the Vision buttresses the need for investments in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) which should be at the centre of the transformation agenda. Thus, STI should be integrated into all socio-economic activities to drive the achievement of Vision 2057.
It acknowledges that fact that a necessary condition for the attainment of an upper-middle income status should be prioritizing Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Therefore, existing policies and laws should be amended regularly to keep pace with the rapid changes in ICT, such as is being witnessed by the great strides in artificial intelligence (AI).
In pursuit of the ICT agenda, there should be improvements in e-government, e-business, e-commerce, e-waste, e-health, e-education and e-research as a foundation for accelerated economic development. In that regard, massive investments should be made in research and development to generate solutions to the nation’s problems.
Real sector of the economy
Ghana’s real sector includes agriculture, industry, and services, which are expected to drive economic growth. Although agriculture remains the lifeblood of the economy, industrialisation and services are rapidly expanding, boosted by government initiatives. Key industries include mining, manufacturing, and oil production.
Challenges facing the real sector of the Ghanaian economy include: limited access to affordable credit and financing for business in general and more especially for the agricultural sector or other agro-based value chain industries; poor distribution of and access to critical infrastructure (energy, transport, water, telecommunications) for local industry development; high cost of energy; inadequate public support to the private sector; and unbridled competition from imports.
Policy Objectives
If implemented, Vision 2057 hopes to
- Create a modernised, dynamic inclusive and resilient economy which is robust against shocks and running at optimum capacity.
- Facilitate a competitive private sector with sustained industrial transformation for growth and jobs.
- Facilitate efficient and effective forward and backward linkages across industry, services, and agriculture sectors of the economy.
- Increase export market development and competitive import substitution to improve the balance of payments.
- Establish a dynamic environment for investments in the real sector and performancebased management to optimise returns for both public and private sector stakeholders.
Strategic Direction
- Diversify the economy and ensure that the services sector provides the necessary support system to the oil and gas as well as agricultural commodities and other natural resources.
- Identify strategic commodities or services that should be the anchor for the nation’s growth strategy
- Provide mechanisms including tax credits to the private sector to create and sustain employment
- Integrate human capital development in all facets of national development
- Build a strong, socially responsible, vibrant, and internationally competitive private sector operating in a stable macroeconomic environment and sustained by innovation.
- Promote strategic Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the real sector.
- Pursue and leverage digitalisation agenda across all sectors of the economy
Targets by 2057
- Provide at least one growth pole in each of the sixteen regions of Ghana
- Sustain GDP growth of seven percent to support employment generation
- Attain and sustain per capita GDP of not less than US$8,500
When asked to expound on the “24-hour economy” of his government, during his vetting, Dr. Cassel Ato Forson said the focus will be on the real sectors of the economy. It remains to be seen whether the John Mahama administration will deliver the 24-hour economy by transforming the real sector.
Social development
In the area of social development, the Vision hopes to create an equitable, healthy and prosperous society. This goal can be attained through the provision of quality education and health services, employment and decent work opportunities, protection from various shocks and vulnerabilities and other means of self-empowerment.
This will lead to a comprehensive social and human development where the well-being of all citizens is guaranteed, and the appropriate human capital is built to fight poverty and reduce inequality.
Education and training
According to the Vision Ghana aims to achieve universal access of all persons to high quality and skills-driven education for Ghanaian youth at all levels. In that regard, Ghana’s education sector has made significant progress in terms of infrastructure and enrolment rates across various levels.
Completion rates have notably improved in Primary and Junior High Schools, with Primary School completion rates increasing from 100.8 percent in 2017/2018 to 108.6 percent in 2020/2021, while Junior High School completion rates have increased from 79 percent in 2017/18, to 93 percent in 2021/2022.
Most significantly, the Free Senior High School Policy has boosted the transition rate from junior to senior high school, reaching 91 percent in 2019/2020 before slightly declining to 85.4 percent in 2020/2021. During the period, Senior High School completion rates also saw growth, rising from 52.5 percent in 2017/2018 to 64.1 percent in 2019/2020.
TVET intervention
Ghana acknowledges the importance of Technical and Vocation Education and Training (TVET) especially for the country’s industrialisation agenda and has since 2017 undertaken several reforms to ensure effective regulation, coordination, standardisation and quality of instruction in TVET.
Ghana also ensured the development and implementation of a five-year strategic plan for TVET transformation and provided free apprenticeship training and free TVET at the second cycle level, as well as the construction of new and upgrading of existing TVET institutions. In short there is already a lot on the plate of this government to accomplish, for which there should be no time wasting.
On the strength of the above economic directions, I strongly agree with the assertion that the proposed National Economic Dialogue will be a waste and a duplication of existing economic policies. Vision 2057 is no doubt a farsighted and progressive policy for any serious government to adopt and implement. Ghanaians will not accept anything short of an accelerated economic growth of more than 7.2% GDP the current government inherited.
