Demands on Akufo-Addo gov't too soon – Lecturer

Demands being made by some pressure groups and labour unions on the incoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, led by President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, have come too early, given that the new government has not been inaugurated, a political scientist with the University of Education, Winneba, Isaac Brako, has said.

His comment follows demands by the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) to the effect that the Akufo-Addo-led government should overhaul the civil service for efficiency and productivity.

In a press conference organised in Accra on Tuesday, December 13, AFAG General Secretary Arnold Boateng argued that for maximum productivity and development of the nation, some changes needed to be effected within the civil service.

“We hope that the civil service will be overhauled to reflect the expectations of the new government and its policies. Indeed, some of them are more partisan, others are there without merit, and some purely on vested interest,” he disclosed.

In addition to AFAG, the Ghana Union of Traders (GUTA) also wants the incoming NPP government to immediately review the current tax regime when it takes over power from January 2017, after the NPP promised to scrap several taxes and reduce others to enable businesses have the space to expand and employ more people.

But speaking in an interview with Emefa Apawu on Class91.3FM’s ‘505’ programme on Tuesday December 13, Mr Brako said: “I think it has come too early, because when you look at the policy-making process or what we call Policy Life Cycle, it begins with identification of the problem. The government identifies the problem [and then finds solutions to them]. So many segments or groups in the society are confronted with problems but the government cannot get money to address all these problems at a go…”

He added: “You can use lobbying as these groups are seeking to do, you can use strikes, boycotts and demonstrations. There are many other means of making those demands from the policy makers or the government.

“But the government has not even been introduced and people have started making demands and so I think the timing is a bit wrong. The government has not been inaugurated, so I think that has come too early.”