Be accountable so that the people can understand the situation and support – Peter Terkper
Ghanaians have been aware of how woeful the economy has been performing in recent times which has generated a lot of conversations.
Policy Analyst Mr Peter Terkper, in dissecting the issues during an interview on the Active Morning show said “the situation we find ourselves in requires a careful solution that is why with the continuous silence of government though worrying means they are trying to get a careful decision to resolve the situation”.
Mr Terkper blamed the government for being reactive but not proactive in its quest to resolve the situation as it has been long overdue stating that they should have taken an earlier decision to resolve and alleviate the hardship of Ghanaians.
In prescribing the solution to the situation, Mr Terkper indicated that the government has to take a hard decision of cutting down expenditure which is expected. He noted that in these times, “simple mathematics is that you cut down expenditure”.
He wondered what the government is doing to cut down its expenditures.
Mr Terkper added that “To cut down expenditure to reduce the cost of operation you need a strong political will to do it.’’
He also stated that some tough decisions ought to be taken the first instance government reduced its size by not appointing deputy regional ministers. Though that is encouraging, he advised the government that this alone should not make it lose sight of the fact that more ought to be done though he[Terkper] does not subscribe to pay cuts.
Some measures he prescribed, for now, includes the cost of travelling: he encouraged government officials not to travel business class but economy class. Also, huge sums of money paid to hotels for government conferences can be scrapped by organizing such meetings in government conference rooms rather.
He went on to advise that it is high time the government showed the way in terms of accountability and transparency, especially what the donations accrued when covid first surfaced were used for. This he says will go a long way to instil the interest to continue to pay taxes in Ghanaians and to give the citizenry a fair idea of the situation on the ground for them to understand the sacrifice they have to make to bring the economy back on its feet.
