‘Ghana can't progress without long-term planning’

Mr Ishmael Yamson, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council of the President of Ghana, has called for the formulation of definite long-term strategic plan to effectively drive the vision of socio-economic prosperity for the country.

According to him, Ghana would not make any meaningful headway if things continued to be done the same way as it had been over the years.

Mr Yamson, made the call at the first Public Forum on Ghana’s Monetary Policy Stance and the National Budget and its implications for businesses in 2015.

He said political leaders were noted for setting aside existing policies and programmes and substituting them with their short-term political agendas, which often upset businesses, thus leading to the frequent fall in the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rates.

He blamed politicians for failing Ghanaians and creating serious economic hardships “because they do not do the right things and put in place the correct structures for the needed growth required for the progress of the country.

The forum, which was organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers (Ghana), aims at creating a platform where the public would be able to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of government policies and strategies proffered to address the current economic challenges.

Mr Yamson said the problems facing Ghana was the result of the lack of effective long-term planning, absence of strong institutions to handle technical issues and the abandonment of inherited policies and programmes, which would have progressed the development agenda.

He said the fundamental problems such as the cycle of the replacements of technocrats who had the professional capabilities to sustain critical institutions with political heads had led to serious disconnections and lack of growth in all sectors.

Mr Yamson also suggested the strict enforcement of discipline in all sectors, especially with regard to ending the over spending of budgets, which had been the major cause of the high inflation figures experienced over the years.

He, however, called for a strong Public Private Partnership to ensure the achievement of the expected development and the judicious utilisation of resources for their intended purposes.

He also called for the establishment of strong state institutions that would uniquely promote and pursue a long-term development agenda that would direct both public and private sector growth, ensure an improved industrial sector and boost GDP growth.