Thomas Kusi Boafo
Newly-appointed Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, has been urged to take prudent and decisive actions to restore investor confidence that has plummeted as a result of the mismanagement of the economy by the former National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.
Thomas Kusi Boafo, a financial consultant, who made the call, also charged the Finance Minister to renegotiate contracts, cut unnecessary spending and avoid scandals, including the cancellation of undesirous allowances.
Speaking in an interview with Hello Fm in Kumasi, the chartered accountant, who is a lecturer at the Kumasi Technical University, warned that failure to do so could result in far-reaching consequences for Ghanaians.
Ghana’s bailout, an extended credit facility, remains one of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) biggest projects in Africa, and Mr. Kusi Boafo believes the new Finance Minister has the responsibility to engender renewed confidence first in the Ghanaian public and the international community.
“If he can be prudent in the use of the country’s resources and put in place proper measures, it will be good for the country. This will resonate with the investor community,” he noted.
He recounted imprudent decisions the country took under the former Mahama administration.
“At the time Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) was using $770,000 to construct one kilometre- asphalted road, Ghana government was using $1.5 million for the same project. So if the Minister can bring this down to say $1 million, it will engender confidence automatically,” the financial expert stated.
He pointed out that the NDC government failed to give the nation value for money in the area of infrastructural project, asserting that a whopping GH?11.5 million was used to construct one of the E-blocks.
“The investors are watching with keen interest. If you rearrange things and put in proper measures, it will definitely resonate with the investors. We need to build trust and do away with unnecessary bureaucracy – layers of bureaucratic processes at various sectors,” Mr. Boafo declared.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi