Ghana needs Fiscal Discipline Act to check parties – Lecturer

An economics lecturer at the Kumasi Polytechnic, Thomas Kusi Boafo, has called for the passage of a Fiscal Discipline Act to regulate political parties during elections in the country.

This, he noted, will prevent political parties in government from using national resources in campaigning.

“Over the years, political parties overspend resources, which tend to affect the country’s coffers after elections. Our current state is a clear indication of what happened ahead of the 2012 general elections”, he remarked.

Thomas Kusi Boafo expressed these concerns in an interview with Afia Pokua on Adom/Asempa FM’s Burning Issues programme during a discussion on the current state of Ghana’s economy.

The lecturer observed that overspending during elections is widespread across Africa, adding that Ghana's current budget deficit of 12.1% is a case in point.

He also revealed that successive governments fidget with inflation figures ahead of elections to portray a healthy economic state in order to win power, only for the economy to worsen a few months after elections.

According to him, earnings from cocoa, gold and oil on the world market are usually unaccounted for around electioneering year, a situation that affects the purchasing power of the people.

Kusi Boafo believes this condition has forced Ghana to borrow excessively and spent huge sums of money to service debts incurred by the country.

However, Bia East Member of Parliament (MP), Richard Acheampong thinks otherwise.

He disagreed with the perception that the current government used state resources during the last elections, resulting in the current ailing state of the economy.

“It is true government outspent its budget but the money was invested in developmental projects”, he asserted.

Although he accepted the country is experiencing economic down-turns, he believes government has put in place measures to address issues affecting the economy.

“We going through difficult times because the investments the country made is yet to yield fruits”, he noted.