People's Forum to host debate on economy

The People’s Forum (PF), a nationalistic institution, is set to invite Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, an economist and banker to a round table with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

The PF said the invitation has been necessitated following the recent negative pronouncements on the economy by Dr Bawumia and a prominent clergyman in the country.


Addressing a news conference in Accra, Mr Mr Clement Amole, a convenor of PF, said although freedom of expression was inalienable and as such everyone was entitled to expresses his or her view on any political, social, economic or religious issues, such expressions must be based on solid facts, truths and realities”.


“We find it very compelling to bring Dr Bawumia, the BoG and the GSS on one common platform to critically analyse the economic situation in relation to his assertions, for the fact that he was a public official who may have access to certain confidential information that we are not privy to,”


“Dr Bawumia has mentioned a few statistical figures to back his claims and his comments appear to be mostly designed to create panic in the foreign exchange market, the capital market and among the business and investor community, judging from the political direction his statements on the economy generally takes.”


He said it was a prerequisite that in freely expressing oneself, it had to be done in an absolutely responsible manner, knowing well that what they say would have a far-reaching effect than they intended.


“This responsibility means putting the national interest first-ahead of partisan politics- so that whatever is expressed does not offset the delicate social and economic balance in our society”, he said.

Mr Amole stressed that in the past month, the PF had observed that certain individuals, under the guise of evaluating the socio-economic situation in the country, were subtly sowing seeds of discontent, confusion, fear and panic within the general citizenry.


The convener, however indicated that even though the GSS had rightly come out publicly to debunk such preposterous claims, the PF calls for further steps to be taken to ensure that when such economic misinformation are churned out into the public space, they are backed with incontrovertible facts devoid of potential risks to national economy.


“This situation is affecting national output and has generally affected government’s ability to mobilize the required tax revenues for the country’s development as investors are being driven away by such utterances”, Mr Amole added.


He, therefore, stated categorically that “Henceforth any individual or institution that attempts to run down any state institution should be ready to face such institutions on a platform they will be creating to prove their point”, he said


Mr Amole further called for collective efforts and strong institutions that would help and protect hardworking public institutions, as they hold a significant key to the economic progress or retrogression of the country.