We are unable to admit wrongdoing after 66 years of independence – Prof Bokpin on SONA

An Economist and Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School says politicians must learn to take responsibility for their actions.

According to Prof Godfred Bokpin, it has become a trend for politicians to blame all other factors but themselves for their failures.

“It’s not only this government, if you look at the narrative from 1992 across the two major political parties, it’s as though the marking scheme is blaming it on others, don’t admit wrongdoing,” he said on Joy FM’s Newsnight on Wednesday.

His comments come on the back President Akufo-Addo’s State of the Nation Address on March 8.

The President in his address said Ghana’s economy was performing until it was hit by Covid-19.

On the back of this, Professor Bokpin said although the President had admitted that the economy was faced with challenges, he had failed to assume responsibility for the crisis.

“Whilst we agree with the President that we are in an economic mess we disagree with the President on what has brought us here and this is where Ghana’s immaturity shows up again.

“After 66 years of independence, we are unable to admit wrongdoing and own up as responsible adults who are capable of managing our own country and that is unfortunate,” he told host, Evans Mensah.

The Economist explained that the government’s claim that Covid-19 was the major cause of the hardship, was false.

“It’s as though you are majoring on the minor and the reason, we are saying is that Russia – Ukraine is a global issue, the impact is pervasive. Covid-19 is a pandemic, the impact is pervasive, you also see marginality in how countries were affected by this twin development.”

“It is in the level of the marginality that you are able to see the difference in the resilience of one economy compared to the other economy.

“So, it takes shocks of this global proportions to reveal local vulnerabilities so you see economies that are sustained by words and propaganda and the once that are real on the ground. So, when pandemics of this nature strike that is when you will see countries that have pursued good and sound policies over the years,” he said.

He added that the fundamental of Ghana’s economy was doing well until the exit from the IMF programme.

Professor Bokpin stressed that the government under the guise of Covid-19 incurred debt.

“Ghana unlike any other country decided to monetise the virus. Ghana took advantage of the virus to mess up. In the name of Covid we overspent actually trying to win over electorates in 2020 elections…Whilst Cote Ivoire and the others were running deficits in the same Covid year of less far less than 10 %, Ghana did an excess of 15 %.. How do you explain this?” he quizzed.                                                                                                  source: Myjoyonline.com