An economist and professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School says it is time Ghana considers the Human Development Index (HDI) instead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin said “We need to change the narrative because where the focus is would also influence policy makers to look to that direction and begin to align the system to generate the data that would enable us to track our progress along those lines that reflect more human development issue.”

Mr Bokpin added that it is time for the two main political parties - NDC and NPP - to end the debate on statistics which “necessarily won’t put food on the table and is not helping in limiting the poverty of opportunity available to Ghanaians.”

Mr Bokpin told Samson Lardy Anyenini, host of JoyNews' Newsfile on Saturday that Ghanaians have spent quite a lot of time since 1992 talking about GDP.

“GDP that we cannot celebrate. GDP that did not come along with job creation. GDP that we don’t see on our table given the low local content of our economy,” he stated.

He also pleaded with political parties to end the empty talks on statistics and urged them to focus on human related issues.

“I will plead with the two main political parties that enough with statistics now can we lift the veil and begin to look at the people because at the centre of the economic progress, and policy has to do with people. If it’s not about people let’s not talk about it at all, "he pleaded.

According to Mr Bokpin, Ghana is behind in terms of GDP so far as development literature is concerned because other countries have moved beyond GDP.

"Other countries are talking about gross happiness index others are talking about social progression index, human development index and all of that, others are measuring the strength and health of their economy recovery on the number of jobs that were being created on monthly basis on quarterly basis so that is the way to go now because ultimately GDP necessarily doesn’t mean that all is well with Ghanaians," he stressed.