National Summit Needed On Economy - Economist

Accra An Economist today suggested the holding of a national summit to discuss the direction of the economy. Dr. A. Acute-Osei, of the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), said such a summit could form the basis for future bilateral and multilateral negotiations.

He was delivering a paper on Management of the Economy in the Context of Good Governance at the workshop on Governance jointly hosted by Parliament and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). ''After such a summit a blue ribbon panel of experts should be charged with the responsibility for implementing the agreed recommendations.

''Such a panel, however, must have the legal mandate and be independent of the government to ensure that the role of political considerations in arriving at economic decisions is not given undue prominence.''

He said economic management in Ghana's democratic environment is realisable if the economic managers reach out and listen to broader constituencies within and outside the country.

Dr. Akoto-Osei said the managers of the economy should ensure a timely and wider dissemination of accurate data and always seek to reconcile data from the four major data-gathering and monitoring agencies.

They are the Ghana Statistical Service, Bank of Ghana, Accountant-General's Department, and Ministry of Finance.