Governance Challenges At The Heart Of Ghana’s Economic Woes – Bokpin

A professor at the University of Ghana Business School, Godfred Bokpin, is convinced the root cause of Ghana’s economic challenges could be traced to governance.

According to Prof. Bokpin, addressing Ghana’s poor governance is crucial to charting a sustainable path for the country rather than merely restructuring financial bonds.

He highlighted the concerning trend of rising governance costs since Ghana’s return to democratic governance in 1992.

“The problem is largely governance. Look, we can restructure our bonds on a weekly basis, but if we don’t solve the governance issue, we will come back to this point. What is happening now is that since 1992, you’ll see governance costs rising.

“And today, it is far better for you to join politics and break even than to work in the private sector or public service. People are willing to sacrifice for their political parties than for the country. We need to come to the table, have a national conversation,” he said.

Calling for a national dialogue, the astute lecturer underscored the urgency of making democracy truly beneficial for ordinary Ghanaians.

“We need to ask ourselves, how do we make democracy work for us because, as it stands now, democratic dividends do not trickle down to the ordinary Ghanaian, it doesn’t. We need to save Ghana’s democracy from itself, which is different from proposing alternatives,” he said during the Business Leadership Lecture Series on TV3, monitored by theghanareport.com.

He stressed the need to have just 40 ministers steering the affairs of the country instead of the large government size.

Mr Bokpin further delved into the implications of the staggering loss of GH¢60.8 billion within the 2022 fiscal year by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

“Do you know what it means to render the central bank balance sheet negative like this? We are exposed as a country. Remember, the central bank is the lender of last resort.

“For example, while the IMF was asking us to restructure our debts as a prior action, the IMF said that their debt, together with the multilateral debts, as of the end of 2022, was $8.8 billion. The IMF said that because they were the lender of last resort, their debt was not up for restructuring because, as the lender of last resort, it was not good that their balance sheet could take a hit.

“If every country runs into trouble, where will they go to? They will go to the IMF, and therefore they need to preserve their balance sheet. Our central bank is the lender of last resort. The same principle applies here,” he explained.

He stressed that the central Bank should remain immune to political influence, affirming its critical role in safeguarding Ghana’s economic stability.