As it is with all crises, there will definitely be winners and losses. Some sectors of the economy are hard hit and are reeling under the Covid-19 pandemic.
Others such as the Telecommunications industry are experiencing exponential boom. Ghana’s economic recovery would however seek to turnaround the ailing businesses. Such business winners amidst the pandemic have a part to play in Ghana’s economic recovery process.
In this regard, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), Dr Charles Ackah, has urged government to fish out those businesses that are winning from the pandemic and use them to lead the recovery process of economy.
“We need to find out who are the winners are, and decide what to do with them to compensate for the losers”, he said.
Dr Ackah made these remarks at a National Economic Webinar organised on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 under the auspices of the Advocates for Christ.
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Meanwhile, an Economics Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Godfred Bokpin, also added his voice to this call.
“We need to make sure that those who have gained, both individuals and the private sector contribute a lot more towards financing the recovery process than those who have been hard hit”, he opined.
He added that there is some kind of elite culture in the Ghanaian economy. Where many top civil servants, politicians and opinion leaders are benefiting from the economy without a commensurate contribution to the tax revenue.
Consequently, he urged government to embark on an aggressive revenue mobilisation exercise to raise more money to spend towards reinvigorating the economy. Ghana’s economic recovery has a good potential to succeed if well implemented.
“There are some places when you go there, you don’t go with pen and negotiations, you go there with hammer and break it.
Government would have to be aggressive in revenue mobilisation in order to create the fiscal space and spend to stimulate economic growth”, he stated.
By Salifu B.B. Moro
