Stop ‘cursing’ the economy with "doomsaying" – Joe Abbey

Economist Dr. Joe Abbey says the continuous "doomsaying" about the economy is dangerous for the country.

Though he admits the current economy is in dire straits, the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Analyst (CEPA) warns that the doom-preaching bodes ill for Ghana.

“…We’ve reached the point where the debates are too much. Let us find solutions to our problems and stop becoming doomsayers because once you’ve opened your month in public and you have predicted doom, you don’t realise that you wish to be right; you don’t want to be wrong; so in effect, to prove your case, you want the economy to fail,” he observed.

He wondered what type of economy will be left for the country if the doom saying continues.

Dr. Abbey’s concerns come on the heels of a back-and-forth between the government and the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) about the current state of the economy.

Economist Dr. Robert Osei of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, has also warned that Ghana could soon sink into a highly indebted poor country status if the downward trend of the economy worsens.

Editor of the New Crusading Guide Newspaper, Kweku Baako Jr. has also described the economy as being in “tatters”.

Also, Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, Mr. Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko says the government appears to be borrowing ceaselessly to service other loans thus plunging the country into the abyss.

The debate started following the suspension of aid to Ghana by the country’s multi-donor agencies due to the West African nation’s high wage bill.

Ghana currently spends about 74 percent of collected revenue in compensating public sector workers.

The bill soared after the workers were migrated onto the single spine salary structure.

The donors also have concerns about the toll that the country’s energy crisis had on its economy as well as the effects of the high budget deficit of 12 percent.

Finance Minister Seth Terkper has, however, allayed fears that the economy is grinding to a halt.