Coronavirus: ‘Develop home-grown economic policies to address challenges’

A Development Planner has challenged political parties contesting this year’s elections to develop home-grown development planning framework to help address economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Nyaaba Aweebo Azongo says political parties should change gear from the “ritual of political manifestoes” to develop a local economic development model to decisively address Ghana’s economic challenges in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement issued in Kumasi to highlight some of the economic development challenges, which should occupy the attention of political parties in their campaigns ahead of the 2020 general election, Mr Azongo said well-tailored country specific economic development model should be the focus of political parties.

He pointed out that the Covid-19 pandemic, which had been felt across board, had pervasively exposed the “current one-size-fit-all growth concentrated economic order and rendered it obsolete in Africa, going forward”.

“We are at a development crossroad and with almost three decades in our democratic experiment, the stakes are too high and compelling for a need to be served a different and more challenging cocktail in our quest for development beyond the customary passion of political manifestoes,” he said.

He said the development of Ghana could be achieved on a country specific well-tailored home-grown economic development model to build a case for the rest of Africa.

Mr Azongo stressed the need for Ghana, which led the political liberation of Africa, to incubate and pioneer an African home-grown economic model to consolidate its pioneering political leadership, especially at a time that economic freedom movements were emerging on the Africa political landscape.