COVID-19 Fund apt - Adu-Gyamfi

Head of History and Political Science Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr. Samuel Adu-Gyamfi, has stated that looking at the manner the government is going about the perennial problems facing the country, coupled with the COVID-19 induced hardships, he is an optimist but he dares to say that the government is on a failure course.

He made this statement in an interview with Berla Mundi on the New Day show on TV3, Thursday, May 6.

Dr. Adu-Gyamfi was reacting on the back of the lack of accountability on the part of the government regarding the COVID-19 Fund.

He said “at least we understand from the literature and from the global commentaries from experts, among other things, that this COVID will not leave us the same, it would come with some, if you like, negative and adverse impact on the global economy and also on states, among other things. Having said that, at the micro level, we as a state must have a strategy to be able to contain it and indeed the COVID Fund was the right way to go and we understand that institutions like churches, local NGOs and INGOs or International Non-Governmental Organizations, among other groups were interested in supporting and they did same.

“The amount of money that flowed into such a fund does not belong to the managers of same, it belongs to the citizens and it was meant to service the needs and challenges the people were faced with, among other things. It is important that a proper account is rendered for us to know where we are now, it is also very significant to juxtapose same with the fact that, what do we generate as a country? How much was coming into our kitty with nature’s beneficence, with service, with import and export of same, among other things? Balancing our sheets, comparing what we had in previous years, how much has come into our kitty as a nation, to that extent to be able to ascertain that what is coming to the state in terms of revenue is depreciating as a result of A, B, C to Z.

“And therefore these are the strategies to be able match up or to meet up with the kind of shortfalls or gaps we are seeing and what we are even envisaging in the foreseeable future, set practical explanation and interpretation of the issues should be given to the public by those who are well nuanced within the scheme of things on the subject we are talking about. I think the government has taken an easy route just to impose taxes with some degree of carelessness, for a better want of the right word and we were told, I mean in few years ago, that the economy can be fixed, in fact, that inflation has been imprisoned and the key has been locked up somewhere”.

He further stated “to that extent, there is a strategy to contain the kind of sky-rocketing or galloping inflation if you like, which the country was hitherto experiencing per the narrative of the NPP. Today, if COVID comes and it even give us a certain degree of shock, we understand some degree of financial prudence should allow some status quo to remain, it seems to me that the government, the economic management unit is showing its hands in despair and pushing every challenge and problem back to the citizenry.

“Why did we elect, I mean on what basis did we sign this social contract with them? We did not sign any contract with them, for them to push every challenge on us as the citizenry and we know that countries that are doing well today, do not have those things that we have and if we continue along this tangent with the exacerbation of galamsey, with the escalation of individuals looking for ritual money, with increasing turn of corruption, increasing number of individuals who wants to come into government or have political office to satisfy their whims and caprices, among other things.

“Then this country’s future shall be in oblivion, I am an optimist but I dare say, this government and this leadership is on a failure course and they must be interested in paying attention to the citizenry, as a matter of fact, it is time for them to bite the bullet, it is time to tighten their belt, it is time for them to sacrifice to the extent that they will say that: we are willing to serve this country without looking for any other fringe benefits or whatsoever. We have come to that juncture where the Ghanaian is bearing the brunt, bearing the pain and the challenges of all the extenuating and challenging effects of COVID but it seems to that the powers that be and those who sit at the top are still enjoying the luxury and the kind of benefits and largess that comes with democracy and with high office”.