Replacing Terkper will not end economic challenges - Pratt

The state of Ghana's economy will not change if President John Dramani Mahama heed to calls for the removal of Finance and Economic Affairs Minister, Seth Terkper, according to Kwesi Pratt Jnr. Editor-In-Chief of the Insight Newspaper.

Many are of the view that most of the current appointees are not performing as expected.

The Finance Minister has come up for strong criticism with leading members of the ruling party, the NDC, openly against his penchant to tell the truth as it is and his administration of the economy.

Perhaps, it was as a result of these calls for reshuffle that the National Security Coordinator, Col. Gbevlo Lartey (rtd) was replaced by Mr. Yaw Donkor of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

But contributing to a panel discussion on Radio Gold’s Alhaji and Alhaji, Kwesi Pratt advised government not to reshuffle just for the sake of it.

Though he said the call for a reshuffle is justified, he was of the view that a reshuffle must come from a ‘clear, defined objective’ to achieve a certain goal.

“I have heard all the calls for a reshuffle and there can be no doubt that this is the time for a reshuffle. Things are not working. The complaints are coming from people in government and outside government. Everybody is complaining that something is wrong. And in these circumstances, a reshuffle is necessary in order to enable the government to re-focus and bring in new energy…

But a reshuffle for its own sake will be absolute useless. A reshuffle must have clear defined objectives. There must be a framework within which the reshuffle must take place” he said.

Touching on calls for dismissal of Seth Terkper, the seasoned journalist said replacing the Finance Minister will not put an end to the current economic crisis the country is facing.

"....it is true there are many economic problems but will the mere removal of Mr. Seth Terkper resolve those problems? It is not a question of personalities. If the fundamentals of our economic structures are not re-ordered, these changes will be absolutely meaningless. The solutions to the problems are not the retention or removal of Seth Terkper. It is far more than that. It is [a] matter of state policy so let’s look in the right direction," he said.