Associate Professor of Development Economics at the University of Ghana, Professor Ebo Turkson, says Ghana’s burden sharing should not be the reserve of just the ordinary Ghanaian, rather everyone – including the political class – should be involved in the burden sharing.

His comments are in relation to stern warnings from workers unions across the country who have taken an uncompromising stance against any possible salary restructure that may either worsen their already dire economic situation or cause the government to renege on earlier salary upward adjustment promises.

According to the Professor, the uncompromising stance taken by the unions is as a result of the realization that whenever there is talk of burden sharing by the political class, it only affects the working class.

“It is because the Ghanaian worker over the time has seen that if there has to be any sacrifice being made in Ghana, it is the ordinary people who sacrifice not the politicians and that is quite key,” he said.

He has thus suggested that for the workers unions to soften their stance, the government will first have to show their commitment to keeping to very strict austerity measures.

“If the President announces a cut in his Ministers of State; drops the number down to about 70 and announces some very radical revenue measures from the executive and Ghanaians see that happening, Ghanaians would accept.

“If Ghana announces that look in 2024 we’re not going to pay any end of service benefit to any Member of Parliament, we as lecturers have had to sit down over the years and not got any salary increases they’re not better than us. Yes we give them respect, they’re Members of Parliament but they’re not better than us,” he said.

He added that “We do not need to increase Parliament. If anything at all, Ghanaians will come to a firm decision that we do not need more than 100 members of Parliament in this country because we have a local government system that should be able to be agents of development in our respective districts.

“We don’t need our Members of Parliament to be agents of development, they should be lawmakers and they should go to Parliament to go and make laws for Ghana and serve the country like any other Ghanaian worker is doing.

“They’re not better than any Ghanaian worker for them to have the luxury of having cars being loaned out for them and being paid those huge salaries because they’ve promised some voters that ‘when I come to power I’m going to pay your school fees’ and all of that. That should stop.”

According to Professor Turkson, should Ghanaians come to the realization that both the working class and the political class are equally yoked in this burden sharing, the attitude of Ghanaians to the impending strict measures to be imposed by the IMF – that is, should Ghana’s bid be accepted – will be one of understanding.

“If we see that happening, the Ghanaian that I know – I am also a Ghanaian, I’m also a lecturer, I’m being grossly underpaid but I’ll accept a situation like that when I see that every Ghanaian is sacrificing.

“And I’m sure that the Unions that are out there will also accept that look, if this will help us get to the point that we need to look back and say no we’re not going back to IMF … I think that Ghanaians will accept it.

“But the sacrifice should not come only to the ordinary low-income ordinary not-well-to-do Ghanaian, everybody should be part of the sacrifice,” he said.