THE RESCUE PLAN MUST WORK (FEB 20)

PRESIDENT J. E. A. Mills presented his first State of The Nation Address to Parliament yesterday in which he outlined some austerity measures to put the economy on an even keel.
Described in certain quarters as Ghana’s version of a ‘Rescue Plan’, in the wake of the global economic downturn, the initiatives announced by the President require the support of all Ghanaians to achieve the desired results.
Indeed, the austerity measures will require some amount of sacrifice from all sectors of society. Profligate spending must become a thing of the past, particularly beginning from our public office holders, such that they can set the tone for everybody to share the burden of the present economic challenges.
The President himself has indicated the willingness of his administration to lead by example, for which reason he has pledged to cut down expenditure on governance, such as expenditure on state protocol, seminars and workshops. He also pledged to review the exemption regime so that the savings made can be used to support infrastructural development.
One area of the policy initiatives outlined in the President’s address that the DAILY GRAPHIC finds heart-warming is his admonition to Ghanaians not to panic, since the burden of sacrifice, if properly shared, would result in great opportunities and progress for the people.
Our leaders, in times of crisis, have never lost the opportunity to appeal to the people to sacrifice for a better future. Unfortunately, on many of these occasions our governments have not shown by example that they are also prepared to share in the burden of the country’s poverty.
Therefore, while the people wallow in abject poverty, their leaders exhibit opulence and ostentatious lifestyles.
Presently, the economic outlook is bleak, particularly in the wake of the fall of the cedi against major currencies and the global economic melt down. If we must keep our heads above water, we must move away from ‘business as usual’ and design mechanisms to reconstruct the economy.
The measures announced by President Mills are very bold steps that can lead to economic revival if we all buy into the agenda.
Ghana is richly endowed and its people are very resourceful. All that is required now is the collective resolve to tap into these resources for the common good.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on Ghanaians to support the President’s ‘Rescue Plan’ by contributing more to the productive activities of the economy.
The ball is in the court of all working people, such as office workers, farmers, fishermen, traders and managers who must desist from any practices that tend to undermine government policies.
We need to double our productive activities such as working hard during working hours, paying our taxes and eschewing indiscipline if we are to mobilise sufficient revenue to carry out the reconstruction plan.
It is our hope that, in line with the popular saying that “example is better than precept”, our leaders will show the way and the people will not deviate from the narrow path towards a better Ghana.