Many Ghanaians heaved a sigh of relief last weekend following the announcement that two of Ghana’s major partners have offered budgetary support to the country.
The World Bank board approved a $215 million Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) for the government of Ghana, while the UK government announced the disbursement of £36 million towards general budget support.
These inflows are anticipated to further stabilise the economy and reduce inflation and the prime rate to further accelerate efforts at job creation and growth.
The government, since assuming the reins of power in 2009, has initiated some policy interventions to reduce the budget deficit it inherited, reduce inflation and stabilise the cedi against other currencies.
Some modest gains have been made over the last 24 months, with inflation hitting the lowest level in 19 years, reserves improving and the right environment being created to enable the banks to reduce their interest rates further.
The cost of doing business is still high, though, but indications are that the factors militating against the steady growth of the economy are being removed.
The economy cannot take off if structural bottlenecks, such as high interest rates, unemployment, deficiencies in the supply of utilities, as well as high tariffs, are not addressed pretty soon.
We are yet to come out of the woods, as the policy interventions are yet to bear fruits. Perhaps the time has come for the government to start looking at deliberate pro-poor policies to reduce the burden on the poor.
The upward adjustment in utility tariffs last year and the recent rise in the prices of petroleum products will hit the poor harder than any segment of society.
That is why it behoves the social partners to expedite action on moves to introduce a new minimum wage.
When the prices of utilities go up without a corresponding adjustment in wages and salaries, the purchasing power of working people declines and their living standards deteriorate.
The UK support for this year is very critical towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through the provision of improved health, education, water and sanitation.
Already, certain policy measures have been initiated in these sectors to achieve the MDGs which will be key drivers for the achievement of our development agenda.
The era of oil production will change the development equation in the country. Now Sekondi/Takoradi in particular and the entire Western Region have become a beehive of economic activities since the discovery of oil in 2007.
Ghanaians must position themselves well to take advantage of the boom that will be associated with the oil industry, instead of allowing foreigners to dominate the sector.
There are other nationals, even in the West African sub-region, who have expertise in the oil industry, but we can compete with them if the country develops the expertise of its people in oil and gas.
These can both be challenging and interesting times, depending on whichever way the situation in the country is looked at. The challenges come with many opportunities that can be exploited to our advantage.
The STX housing project and the Chinese support for the reconstruction of the railway network will inject substantial amounts of money into the economy and create jobs for many people.
With the declaration of 2011 as an Action Year, the expectation must be very high among the populace, especially the youth who look forward to new opportunities and challenges to achieve their career objectives.
The Daily Graphic believes that the signs for economic take-off this year are very bright, judging from the show of goodwill from our development partners.
However, we must bear in mind that no amount of foreign aid will help rebuild our economy if we do not empower the indigenous people to “take over the commanding heights of the country”.
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