Give up your loyalty, cut close people off – Bokpin to Akufo-Addo

Economist and lecturer at the University of Ghana, Godfred Alufar Bokpin has asked president Akufo Addo to sacrifice his loyalty to his appointees and downsize his large government for the country’s good. According to him, the interest of the nation should be put before any personal interest or affiliation. Speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews monitored by GhanaWeb he lamented that, Ken Ofori-Atta has overstayed his welcome as the Finance Ministry sits back without putting in any efforts to stall the free fall of the cedi as well as other crucial economic issues. “Sometimes it matters that you sacrifice somebody so close because if the president would be mindful of what is happening even across the investor base, home and abroad, you could see that they are already discounting the leadership of the Finance Minister,” he suggested. “So, part of leadership is to pick that right signal where you say that, okay I have gotten to the stage where I have to trade off loyalty. I need to trade off personal interest for the common good, if this is what will do the trick, why not," he added. According to the economist, a lean government is one of the best options to resort to in Ghana’s current situation in order to salvage the economy adding that a large government usually comes with large costs adding that monies realised from the initiative can be injected back into the economy to build confidence. “Some level of restructuring, and downsizing the government, and looking at it also across state-owned enterprises. A lean government is the best response when you don’t have fiscal space,” he said. He added that Ghanaians are asking for more than just letting the Finance Minister step down. “What we are asking for is actually beyond asking the finance minister to go. Ghana has gotten to the stage where an IMF-supported programme is not enough.” AED/WA