BUILDING A BETTER GHANA (DEC 18, 2009)

THE performance of the economy this year gives an indication that the country has adopted the right mix to achieve better results in 2010.
If the belief that coming events cast their shadows is anything to go by, then it means inflation will inch further downwards in 2010, while the cedi will make gains against all the major trading currencies next year.
This is, however, achievable only if the government sticks to the right policies to stimulate the economy.
Undoubtedly, 2009 has been quite a difficult year, due largely to our own internal bottlenecks and external shocks brought about by the credit crunch.
But the economic indicators show clearly that the economy is bouncing back, except that those interesting statistics are yet to impact positively on the living standards of the people.
In most jurisdictions, when inflation drops and currencies stabilise, the prices of goods and services fall and interest rates drop. But the reverse is the case in Ghana. This is a task for the economic management team and its members are enjoined to work hard to break the cycle.
Over the past 11 months, the economic management team has done its best, but it is the prayer of everybody, just as the Vice-President, Mr John Mahama, said in a Christmas message, that “the country will witness a significant improvement in the economy which will result in job creation in the public and other sectors of the economy, especially the agricultural sector, from next year”.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that it is within our capabilities to improve our economic fortunes if all of us put our shoulders to the wheel.
For this reason, we call on Ghanaians to resolve to put in extra effort in the coming years to harness our rich resources for our betterment.
The country is endowed with arable land, minerals, attractive tourist sites and skilled manpower which can be used to generate the right model for economic growth and development.
It is our prayer that Ghana will learn useful lessons from oil producing countries so that this precious resource will become a blessing rather than a curse.
Although we have what it takes to build a better Ghana, there are challenges that require our collective resolve to bring under control. First, the attitude of the people to work, be it in the public or the private sector, must change so that we can generate the money to fight poverty, diseases and squalor.
Most working people, especially those in government employment, do not give of their best; yet they expect to be paid at the end of the month.
We do not also care about the protection of State property because we assume that “if the government owns, then nobody owns and, therefore, nobody cares”.
The giving of our mandate to the government means it has signed a social contract with the people to manage the country’s resources well to change the conditions of the people for the better.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, however, believes strongly that we can only hold the government accountable for its stewardship if we also fulfil our side of the social contract to be law abiding, hardworking and honour our tax obligations.
Yes, we can because the future looks bright.
However, the DAILY GRAPHIC cautions that the road to the bright future will be rough and that we can only get there through honesty, hard work, dedication and commitment.