IMF bailout -a “useless and criminal” proposition:

Proposal to Change the Economic Structures of Ghana

By: Ofori Ampofo

It is very difficult for us to consider financial prescriptions and proposal of the IMF as "useless and criminal". However the economic problems of Ghana are not seen by the leadership of the country as critical. They don’t see it as chaotic and damaging to the welfare, happiness and livelihood of most Ghanaians. Ghana as a nation is in serious economic crisis, and until we as a people acknowledge that fact, we will try all sorts of economic medications, but will never heal. Since the 1980s we have tried the (IMF) structural adjustment program (SAP). It did not work. We have tried the (IMF) Economic Recovery Program (ERP); it did not work. We were in the (HIPC) program and it never helped. Some lives have even been eliminated by firing squad in a military revolution, thinking they were the problem of the crises then in the country, but the economy is even worse now than that period.

Let officials stop using the word ‘challenged’ in describing the state of the economy. The Ghana economy has been challenged since the late 1960s. It has never gotten better and we must accept we are now in a serious economic crises and we must use our minds to solve the problem. We can’t go on just borrowing without trying to reform our dysfunctional system. There are some fundamental hurdles that have to be removed from our financial management as a country. Until that is done, no amount of grants, aid, or loans can save us from our seemingly perpetual economic dependency. We must move away from the Guggisberg days’ economics.

The recent TUC and organized labour one-day industrial strike is an indication of how economically overstretched people can unceremoniously react. The TUC action should be a warning to any Government not to take the people of Ghana for granted. People are fed up with military revolutions. Therefore it is only by the quick reaction and response of the mass of the people against all forms of abuse, corrupt and evil deeds in our Governance that will straighten up Governments to govern well. We do not have to wait for the United States to challenge us to govern ourselves well for cash. We are no dummies! We must all therefore congratulate the TUC for mobilizing the workforce for that showdown. Some of us would have wished they stayed out for weeks for Government to actually feel the heat by paralyzing all services. However, do members of the government elite even care!

An IMF Bailout can be considered only temporary. In any case, the economic problems are going to hang on us for a long time until as earlier said, the fundamental issues inhibiting our economic progress are removed. In the Mahama government’s attempt at doing something, he constituted an economic summit which has been dubbed ‘The Senchi accord’, which Ghanaians thought was going to be a blueprint to guide us to reshape the economy in the short and long term. I thought the President reiterated his confidence in the outcome of the economic summit. Why has he now opted for an IMF bailout? If the IMF prescriptions in the past could not solve our economic problems, why does the President in his wisdom think a bailout with them can help us this time? Can’t we do anything on our own? So when can we manage our own affairs, as Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah proclaimed on our independence day in 1957? Have we tried enough? What are some of the creative solutions?

I wish to humbly suggest that our problems simply require Practical solutions from our own backyard, and not IMF bailout.

Here are my recommendations to halt the downward trend of the National economy. The recommendations may be bitter for the elites, who may have to sacrifice immensely for the revitalization of the ailing economy. Indeed, every Ghanaian will be called upon to sacrifice.

1) A New form of Government: The government as constituted now must accept responsibility for the precarious state of the Economy. The government must accept voluntarily instead of being forced to resign as done in coups, and hand over to a 15 member interim administration. It is recommended one member each from all ten regions, selected from Parliament. If my prescription is accepted by the people of Ghana, I would recommend an additional five members. Their mandate shall be for just TWO YEARS, to straighten up the mess, including an amendment of or redesign of the Ghana Constitution; then organize multi- party elections and hand over power in January 2017. We can civilly do this without military coup as others agitate.

2) The Constitution: As stated in (1), the Constitution will be suspended for the period, and necessary reviews done to reflect on the aspirations of the ordinary Ghanaian. There will be no payment of Ex-Gratia following the suspension of the Constitution. All statutory payments, loans outstanding and accounts payables shall be fulfilled.

3) The Country: Ghana will stop borrowing from all foreign sources. In the extreme case any funds are borrowed the nation must be fully informed the full details of amount, interest rate, payment terms and amount and how and when we are going to pay it back.

4) Salaries: All salaries shall be frozen. Voluntary public service will be encouraged. However, all salaries from the President to the laborer will be restructured under one National salary commission, if possible, with cognizance of our National incomes. Nobody will be paid sitting allowances and other benefits that are currently hidden from the public.

5) Agreements: We must renegotiate all existing agreements entered into, with multi nationals working on our mineral deposits. Ghana deserves better returns from our endowments.

6) Retrieval of stolen Public Funds: We must by any means necessary retrieve all monies known to have been misappropriated or stolen by any person, without fear or favor, and by any means necessary, not excluding confiscation of assets and imprisonment. We will be tough on Economic criminals, to serve as a deterrent to others.

7) All Politicians and Government officials from 1992 would be required to register their acquired properties with a special assets evaluation commission for assessment. This will restore the integrity of the honest politicians and expose the “greedy bastards” that former President Rawlings talk about, and prosecute them without fear or favor.

8) Food Sufficiency: IMF Bailout will never help us to become economically self-sufficient in food production. With the proposal, we will create a six months buffer stock on imported food items that can be locally grown, and demand of the Agricultural Department and Crop Research to create the needed seeds and atmosphere for a whole year locally grown buffer crops that will wean the country from further food importations, and sustain such productions for our food sufficiency.

9) Consolidated Fund: The Law that established the consolidated fund controlled by the executive will be abolished. The disbursement of every Cedi of the taxpayer’s money must first be approved by Ministry of finance and the Parliamentary Finance Committee. In the past the fund has been irresponsibly applied, which accounts for most part of the current irresponsible spending and economic problems.

10) Public Notification: All revenues and expenditures of State from all sectors of the economy will be published monthly in a special daily graphic and Ghanaian times center pages for scrutiny. A special session will be set for the Minister of Finance to answer questions at a “meet the public” forum.

11) Eliminating old benefits: I view of the lack of disclosure and clandestine spending, it will never again be the business of State to look for accommodation or means of transport for Parliamentarians, Ministers and Government officials. That will eliminate the burden for state to give out every four years about 150 thousand US dollars for each person for the purpose. All those who would apply for State bungalows, would be required to pay market rent. Monies accrued, will be used to establish regional Mortgage finance banks for credit worthy civil servants to secure low interest rate loans for mortgages. Eventually we must privatize the state bungalows and eliminate the burden of the cost of maintenance.

12) Stolen funds: We must do all we can to get all stolen monies deposited in foreign banks repatriated, and such funds will be confiscated to the State if depositors cannot explain their source.

13) All State institutions that are of no relevance to the development of the Country, and just a drain on the economy, for example Council of state will all be abolished. We must save wherever we can and develop with whatever we can save.

14) The Civil and Public services shall be reformed with just enough Ministries to efficiently perform the tasks of Nation building. A special fund will be provided to help retrenched civil servants who want to get into business for themselves if they have a good Business Plan and go through a Small Business Training.

15) All State vehicles shall be in a transport pool at all regional administrations headed by transport managers. State vehicles will only move with requisition and approved by the transport managers. All vehicles shall park at the pool at the end of the day, and mileage covered entered in a daily logbook which will indicate starting and end mileages.

16) No more Free Petrol: The allocation of free petrol and other fuels to Government officials, and all other categories of staffs and the printing of fuel coupons will cease. The colonial protocol in our system has been abused with impunity and will be ended.

17) All major infrastructural projects such as roads and highways will be completed by any new government before new ones are initiated.

18) Decentralization: IMF bailout will never care about how we manage our nation. All constitutional and other legal processes shall be established to set up a lasting framework for decentralizing authority and all services to make them accessible to the people of Ghana in towns and districts and regions without having to travel to Accra.

19) Taxation: No Country can survive without taxation. However over taxation most often becomes counter-productive. We will therefore review the tax regimes to make prices of goods and service reasonable for the people of Ghana, especially tariffs on water, electricity, fuel and import duties.

20) Social and Financial Discipline: No nation can survive and develop in the modern day without rules and laws and discipline in enforcing them. Every effort shall be made to fight bribery and corruption. In pursuance of this objective, we will ban Political Party activism in the tertiary institutions. Elections to the student leadership councils have since 1992, been fiercely contested with scandals of bribing students to vote on Political Party lines. Since the same students come out into the real life with tainted corruptible minds into our civil and public services, the eradication of the menace should start from the tertiary institutions. Beyond that, stringent measures like imprisonments and confiscation of assets will be enforced to the letter in attempts to fight corruption, among other measures like installation of CCIT cameras in unidentified areas. Corruption is the biggest bane of this Country with our wealth in the hands of greedy and self-centered individuals. We have threaded onto a dangerous situation where one has to pay huge bribes to get a job in every state entity and even to stand for elections, or even to enroll as a nurse, or enter into a teacher training college. That is how far we have come as a country – a country that prides itself as “the GATEWAY OF AFRICA”. We must end the disgrace.

21) The TWO YEARS administration shall witness massive reforms in all sectors of the economy and before a transition is done and transferred into the hands of elected President, we would have established political and economic conditions that generation shall be proud to inherit. Instead of the IMF bailout, Ghana should set up a ten year National development plan based on real human needs, survival, and management strategies for our nation and people will have been drawn to sustain the development tempo and a balanced budget.

Ofori Ampofo. ampofoofori@yahoo.com Ofori Ampofo is a Chairman and co-founder of the Ghana National Party and former CEO of Kwaebibirim Rural Bank. He was also an Engineering Manager at International Tobacco in the 1980s. He is a member of the Ghana Leadership Union’s global GLU Forum.