Already members of the new administration appear to be at cross purposes on key responsibilities, Ofoase Ayirebi lawmaker, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said while reacting to the formation of the seven-member National Economic Dialogue (NED) Planning Committee chaired by Dr Ishmael Yamson.
The former Minister of Works and Housing said that Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson is promising to create jobs begging the question, of what the real economic sector ministers will be doing.
Fiscal expansionism, he added, is being signalled while the President’s statement calls for fiscal consolidation. It leaves worries about the feasibility of ideas prescribed at such fora.
“Hopefully this dialogue should generate ideas that are feasible in fast-tracking the recovery that started in 2024,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah said.
“It is not the first time one is being called. The National Economic Dialogues were very popular and regular before 2012. In 2014 President Mahama led the National Economic Forum (Senchi). During President Akufo Addo’s term it was expanded to even cover other sectors under the National Policy Summits from 2017 (AICC & later other regional Capitals).
“It is good the new administration is continuing. A dialogue of this nature is good. Our democracy is strengthened when we build consensus on key issues. The implementation of solutions often becomes a challenge.
“Many of the recommendations of the Senchi Consensus were abandoned months after meetings. Similarly, the majority of the recommendations of the 2017 and 2018 National Policy Summits also fell on deaf ears. Whether or not the recommendations that will come from this forum will impact the fiscal program or even the economic program of 2025-2028 is at large.”
He further pointed out that concerns are that the national economic dialogue session is organising is being set up to lay a foundation for the new administration to renege on some of their major promises.
He indicated that it would be a disaster for President Mahama to renege on his promises because many young people have voted with the expectation that the Political Class would live by our promises.
“Faith in our democracy will be severely damaged if the new administration uses the dialogue as a cover to lay a foundation to backtrack on their promises. The Politics of Promise-Win-and-Switch must be avoided,” he wrote on Facebook.
The members of the NED Planning Committee are Dr K.Y. Amoako, Professor John Gatsi, Mohammed Samara, Nelly Mireku, Anthony Sarpong and Ernest De-Graft Egyir.
This was announced in a statement on Sunday, January 26, 2025 by the Acting Spokesperson to the President, Felix Kwakye Ofosu.
The National Economic Dialogue (NED) will offer a platform for dialogue and consultation on the country’s pressing development challenges.
It will also discuss policy trade-offs and build consensus on reforms needed to transform Ghana into a high-growth, inclusive, and resilient economy.
According to the statement, government envisions the National Economic Dialogue to achieve three key objectives which includes: Communicate the true state of Ghana’s economy to stakeholders and the people of Ghana, develop a homegrown fiscal consolidation programme to guide the national budget and highlight key structural reforms and policy priorities essential for resetting the economy.
The committee has also been tasked to submit a report within four weeks detailing the following tasks:
Agenda Setting: Develop a comprehensive agenda aligned with the objectives of the NED.
Speaker and Panellist Coordination: Identify and invite experts in economics, energy, and agriculture to participate as speakers and panellists.
Logistics Management: Venue selection, transportation, and other logistical needs.
Session Facilitation: Organize and facilitate panel discussions, workshops, and breakout sessions. Identify and invite moderators and rapporteurs.
Documentation and Reporting: Record the proceedings and prepare a detailed report, including policy recommendations.
Communications Plan: Design and implement a communication strategy to promote and disseminate information about the dialogue.
In his Facebook reacting to this, Mr Oppong Nkrumah, also a former Minister of Works and Housing said “2025 Economic Dialogue to Repeat 2014 Senchi Consensus? President Mahama has just announced a National Economic Dialogue. It seeks to build consensus on the current economic situation, seeks to define a fiscal consolidation strategy and seeks to outline an economic plan for the new administration.
It is not the first time one is being called. The National Economic Dialogues were very popular and regular before 2012. In 2014 President Mahama led the National Economic Forum (Senchi). During President Akufo Addo’s term it was expanded to even cover other sectors under the National Policy Summits from 2017 (AICC & later other regional Capitals). It is good the new administration is continuing. A dialogue of this nature is good. Our democracy is strengthened when we build consensus on key issues. The implementation of solutions often becomes the challenge. Many of the recommendations of the Senchi Consensus were abandoned months after meetings. Similarly, majority of the recommendations of the 2017 and 2018 National Policy Summits also fell on deaf ears. Whether or not the recommendations that will come from this forum will impact the fiscal program or even the economic program of 2025-2028 is at large.
“Already members of the new administration appear to be at cross purposes on key responsibilities. The finance Minister is promising to create jobs begging the question, what the real economic sector ministers will be doing. Fiscal expansionism is being signalled while the President’s statement calls for fiscal consolidation. It leaves worries about the feasibility of ideas prescribed at such fora. Hopefully this dialogue should generate ideas that are feasible in fast tracking the recovery that started in 2024.
“There are concerns that this dialogue is being set up to lay a foundation for the new administration to renege on some of their major promises. That will be a disaster. Many young people have voted with the expectation that the Political Class will live by our promises. Faith in our democracy will be severely damaged if the new administration uses the dialogue as a cover to lay a foundation to backtrack on their promises. The Politics of Promise-Win-and- Switch, must be avoided.
As the NPPs 2024 Flagbearer Dr Bawumia has said, we will not be an obstructive opposition. But we will bring to the fore all the lessons we’ve learnt in Government to help our democracy and the new administration continue with efforts to speed up the economic recovery.
“We will keep an eye on this dialogue, we will point out the good parts, critique the bad parts and highlight places where we believe the administration is repeating some of the mistakes we made in our last term. The 2025 dialogue should not repeat the mistakes of the 2014 economic forum or the 2017/2018 national policy summits.”
