A professor of Finance and Economics at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Prof Godfred Bokpin, has predicted that the next administration will face significant challenges in managing the economy.

According to him, credible leadership is required to put in place the right structures and governance systems, which are essential not only for good governance at the national level but also for strengthening the private sector.

Speaking on the Joy FM Super Morning Show on Tuesday, November 19, Prof Bokpin explained that there is currently no institution in Ghana that demonstrates strong management and hope, which could serve as a solid starting point for economic recovery.

“Whoever wins this election is going to face significant challenges because we don’t have the fiscal space. In fact, no institution in Ghana gives hope that is well-managed and that we can use it as a starting point. There’s not any. Not the central bank with a worthless balance sheet, not ECG [Electricity Company of Ghana] and the rest of them.”

He stressed that the incoming government would need to show compelling leadership that will restore hope and confidence, enabling it to identify existing deficiencies and build a stronger foundation for the future. This leadership must also be capable of outlining a promising vision for the country.

“I am not expecting any serious party that will win this year’s election to assemble a cabinet or government seize of more than forty ministers, then you are not serious. You are not sympathizing with

the people, because the point is that you don’t have the fiscal space," he noted.

Professor Bokpin emphasized the importance of adopting a low-cost, efficient approach to delivering public services and fostering economic transformation.

“Let’s bear in mind that economic transformation, at minimum, will not take us less than fifteen years of doing the right things consistently. Not just two years, and two years off. That is where you will see the effect of leadership through good governance and then economic growth and economic development and sustainable development manifesting in the lives of ordinary Ghanaians.

“Without the appreciation of this, our democracy of four-year term and all of that really does not allow us to put in place measures that will bear medium to long-term effects.

The finance and economics professor also highlighted that reforms are most effective when they are bundled together and mutually reinforcing. However, he noted that a high level of patience would be required to implement these reforms successfully.

He pointed out that the constitutional framework in place restricts the ability to implement measures that will yield medium to long-term effects.

He pooh-poohed the government’s claim of economic recovery arguing that inflation at 22% is still not the best according to global standards.

“With the recovery, the government is celebrating, when you look at the measures the IMF [International Monetary Fund] programme is implementing together with the government’s measures, we’re actually compromising our medium to long-term survivability for short-term praise. We treasure short-term praise and therefore we’re undermining the long-term growth potential for short-term praise. By far, this is the most expensive and pricey economic recovery in our history since independence” he noted.

Between October last year and October this year, prices on average have risen by 22.1%, you cannot celebrate this. It will only take average people to celebrate this average as outstanding. By world standards, it is still very high. What can you do in an economy with an inflation of 22% when the Cedi has lost more than 25% of its assigned value from the beginning of the year? So it’s even difficult planning “he lamented.

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