Ghana’s economic gains under President John Mahama’s government have yet to fully translate into tangible prosperity for citizens, a policy analyst said on Saturday, highlighting challenges in job creation and the rollout of flagship programs.
Kelvin Gyimah, a doctoral researcher at Brunel Law School in the UK, said while macroeconomic indicators, including the appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi, signal stability, many Ghanaians have yet to feel the benefits in daily life.
Speaking on The Forum on Asaase Radio, Gyimah cautioned that currency gains and other indicators should translate into real value for citizens.
“When you want to assess a government, it is not only on the economy but on several other scales. But the economy remains a very important aspect of it,” he said.
“Many people speak about the fact that the Cedi has appreciated against the US dollar, but then it doesn’t translate directly into the prices that they would expect. If there are consistent viewpoints saying the same thing, then it is something that the state has to be interested in,” he said.
24-hour economy initiative
Gyimah also noted concerns about employment, saying economic growth has not yet yielded sufficient job creation, putting the spotlight on the government’s 24-hour economy initiative.
While acknowledging ongoing consultations across the country, Gyimah said the speed of implementing major projects, such as the Gold-for-Reserves initiative, has not been matched in the 24-hour economy program.
“The other bit which is a bit concerning is where you would see a lot of good indicators of the economy but it does not translate into jobs, which brings into context the idea the NDC had in relation to the 24-hour economy,” he said, adding that the government’s vision is to first achieve stability and then allow it to drive prosperity.
“1.7 million jobs are being anticipated from the 24-hour economy, and I don’t think those jobs will all of a sudden come up in one year, so there would be a deliberation in the long-term plan,” he said.
Turnaround
Meanwhile a presidential aide at the Office of the President, Rosemond Obeng has argued that current economic conditions represent a clear turnaround.
“So, if you look at all this data and you look at what we are enjoying now, I think everybody agrees with me that the government has done so well,” she said.
Obeng encouraged political opponents seeking to unseat the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to study the administration’s approach to governance.
She added that the government had lifted citizens out of hardship and pointed to improving assessments of Ghana’s economic performance.
“I will encourage those who are seeking to take power from the NDC to take cue from us—what has the John Mahama government done right? Because clearly, we have turned the fortunes of this country,” she said.
“We have taken Ghanaians from the shackles, and all the ratings are looking good,” Obeng said.
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