More has to be done to revive the economy – MP

A member of parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, says government’s hope of economic recovery is far-fetch, citing poor economic indicators and slow growth in the country.

Contrary to claims by Finance Minister, Seth Terkper that the country’s fiscal consolidation is bearing fruit, after a year engagement with the IMF’s bailout programme, Dr Assibey said it is rather for the ordinary Ghanaian to answer the real impact of the economy, and not the Finance Minister.

“If the economy is rebounding our currency has to get stronger. Jobs have to be created. The cost of borrowing, interest rates have to come down. The cost of borrowing is still high up. The currency is still weak. So what has improved, which of these economic indicators has improved from a year ago or two years ago?”

“Your revenue far exceeds your expenditure. So you are borrowing GH¢8billion. What is worrying is that we are borrowing to pay interest. Interest payment alone for the year is GH¢10.4billion. This means a chunk of our borrowing is going into interest payments.” he said.

He’s advised government to cut off government subvention for agencies like the GIPC, DIC and the rest.

“…You can yank them off government budget, and nothing will happen. Then you can stop the borrowing,” he told the B&FT in an interview.