President
John Dramani Mahama on Thursday delivered his customary State of the Nation
address, which
was a little sparse on the country’s financial condition.
Delivering
his last State of the Nation address during his first term, the President expectedly
spent a considerable portion of his 3hours, 32 minutes and 10 seconds speech to
convince the Ghanaian public of all the brilliant successes his administration
has achieved through investment in health and educational facilities.
Through what he referred to as an ‘Evidence-based’
address, the President paraded a stream of witnesses in the public gallery of
parliament as proof of how his administration is “changing lives” -- amid
cheers and boos from a packed chamber where cabinet members, supreme court
justices and military chiefs were perched on extra seats in the upper floor of
the chamber.
Yet
impacts of the Mahama-administration’s policies on the economy’s health were largely
missing, in an address that is supposed to provide a thumb-nail sketch of the
state of the nation.
The
sometimes strident President cited challenges that faced the economy when he
took office in 2013 as President; such as policy misalignment and external
shocks which resulted in high current account deficits, budget overruns, and
shortfall in revenue mobilisation, but failed to apprise the Ghanaian populace of
the country’s present fiscal position.
In
an address that provided a broad idea of the policies and direction of
government, President Mahama indicated that focusing on education has proved to
be the single most effective way to not only change a single life but all the
other lives than surround it, as this can break the cycle of poverty and abuse
and also be the key that unlocks the door to great opportunities.
“We
have consciously developed strategies and made interventions to raise the quality
of education by emphasising its relevance, improving access and working to
eliminate gender discrimination and equality.”
He
cited interventions such as the supply of free sandals, uniforms and textbooks
to schoolchildren as measures that have increased enrolment.
According
to the President, the slump in commodity prices has had a significant effect on
the country’s balance of payments and revenue.
He
said government has taken significant actions to address the real sector of the
economy by diversifying the economy through intensifying value-addition for
exports, especially gold.
“Additionally,
as part of our agenda to achieve a value-added and export-led economy, the
Ghana Export and Import Bank bill has been laid before parliament. The primary
purpose is to finance exports, notably light industrial products…The operations
of the bank will support nurturing and growth of the private sector in Ghana,
and address the long-standing problem of access to credit for expanding
value-added exports. I intend to sign this bill into law as soon as it is
passes, because it will underscore Ghana’s story of transformation.
“Our
second strategy has been to invest heavily into transformative infrastructure.
As an emerging middle-income country with a growing middle-class, this will
form the basis for a new growth trajectory in the economy, generate jobs and increase
incomes. In furtherance of this, it was decided to create strong institutions
that will help us to achieve our goals. As with the EXIM Bank, the Ghana
Infrastructure Investment Fund was established for a similar purpose.
“These
institutions combined will serve as buffers for managing the economy while
providing the space for spending on socio-economic infrastructure. The Ghana EXIM Bank and the Ghana
Infrastructure Investment Fund are some of the more enduring and independent
mechanisms for addressing the root causes of our particular macroeconomic challenges.
“Government
in addition has additionally deployed new debt management strategies that will
make projects pay for loans procured for such projects.”
President
Mahama once more reiterated his commitment to adhere to strict fiscal
discipline in a year that the country goes to the polls to elect presidential
and parliamentary leaders, which when achieved will be a plus for an economy
that has often recorded huge budget deficits in election years.
Source:B&FT
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