Economist, Dr. John Kwakye, at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), has made a strong case for the President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to consider setting up an Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to advise him on economic matters.
He said Mr. Mahama must personally establish the EAC which will be constituted by independent professionals to give him objective and professional advice to enable him to make informed economic decisions.
It is, however, unclear how this EAC will be different from the already existing Economic Management Team (EMT) whose relevance has been heavily criticized recently given the performance of the economy.
Dr. John Kwakye also believes that to stabilize the freefall of the cedi and strengthen investor confidence, Mr. Mahama must also establish a team to review the current International Monetary Fund (IMF) Programme.
In his post on X in the aftermath of the 2024 polls, he wrote “To strengthen investor confidence in the cedi and economy, Pres. Mahama should constitute a team to review the IMF program. Pres. Mahama should also constitute an Economic Advisory Council (EAC) of independent professionals to advise him on the economy.”
Moreover, the next administration of Mr. Mahama was also advised to drastically reduce the appetite for borrowing as practiced by the current government which landed the economy in a mess.
Dr. Kwakye maintained that the abundant resources in the country if properly and judiciously utilized by the NDC government will provide enough financing and reduce borrowing drastically.
“The President Mahama government must focus on Ghana’s resources as the main source of development financing. It must eschew the habit of borrowing to stem Ghana’s recurrent debt crises,” the economist further recommended.
The former President was officially declared the winner and president-elect of the 2024 General Elections with a whopping 56.5% of the total valid votes cast although his close contender, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia conceded defeat earlier and congratulated him.
The new President-elect is set to be sworn in by the Chief Justice next month on January 7, 2025.
