Dr Akoto calls for home grown economic policies

A flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto says sustainable economic policies rooted in home grown policies are what will guarantee economic development.

He blamed current economic challenges on continuous reliance on external and internal borrowing which comes back to haunt the citizenry.

“We are all feeling the heat. An economy of 38.1% inflation, who isn’t feeling the heat? How does anybody survive?

“I have been truthful to the facts. The government has been truthful to the facts, and that is why we went to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout”, he noted.

The former Minister of Food and Agriculture said the use of debt financing has never been good for Ghana, underscoring the need for a policy shift.

Dr. Akoto noted that Ghana has it all in terms of the gift of natural resources but what the country lacks is a bold and courageous leadership that will take the initiative to implement homegrown policies embedded in its agricultural policy diversification to achieve the much needed economic independence.

“…financing our infrastructure, health, and education are all partly built on debt – both local and foreign. Since the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative during Kufuor’s time, we are talking about the situation where we have gone to the international bond market to raise money to support our development.

“And I am saying that strategy won’t work. Because we’ve tried it almost every four years and 17 times we’ve failed. So, we need to change our strategy”, he noted.

Worried about the high rate of Ghana’s inflation, Dr. Akoto said such could be curbed when the country halts its overreliance on debt financing and begins implementing homegrown policies.

Dr. Akoto believes that 38.1% inflation rate is unbearable.

“Even 20% inflation rate is not good for any country, and that is why we are all feeling the heat,” he said.

He added, “Today, Ghana is buried in debt, and this will forever cling us to the apron strings of our borrowing agencies. We cannot control and manage our economic indices when we are so much swallowed in debts.

‘They will continue to dictate the pace and control our economy.”

The Cambridge trained economist said that for Ghana to wean itself from the shackles of economic bondage, its reliance on borrowing must cease since it is unsustainable and adopt pragmatic local economic policy that hinges on agriculture for development.

He said Ghana needs a policy shift and for that matter, an economic policy that will make the country focus and invest in agriculture which has shown so much prospects in providing the needed jobs for the teeming youth.

Dr Akoto promised to initiate the process of restructuring the economy of by allocating public resources to benefit agriculture, with farmers, processors, marketers and advertisers, and so on.

He stated that with the least incentives to farmers, their responses have been incredible.

The former two-term Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso Constituency in the Ashanti Region who worked in the UN systems for 18 years said a well-developed agricultural sector is the antidote for youth unemployment.

He referenced the achievement of the government’s flagship programme, planting for Food and Jobs (PfJ) which he initiated and implemented when he was the Minister for Food and Agriculture as a clear example of what to expect when becomes the President of Ghana.