Accra: Dr Kingsley Amoako, a Member of the National Economic Dialogue Planning Committee, has called for a sustainable financing strategy to champion Ghana's economic reset for transformation. The strategy should create a Ghana development finance platform, comprehensive domestic revenue mobilisation, and build long-term agreements with major external financing partners. These strategies, according to the Development Economist, should be effectively aligned with the country's vision for economic transformation, with a focus on achieving them in the next decade to drive growth and create sustainable jobs for Ghanaians.
According to Ghana News Agency, Dr Amoako spoke at the opening of the National Economic Dialogue, held at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC). The event aimed to provide solutions to address the current economic crisis and reach a consensus on essential policies for the country's recovery. Dr Amoako emphasized the necessity of Ghana's economic reset agenda, citing the stagnant average income earned by a citizen (Gross National Income per capita) for long periods. He noted that Ghana's Gross National Income per capita remained below US$400 for nearly 40 years between 1962 and 1999, but has since increased to about US$2,400.
Dr Amoako stressed that it should not take another 50 years for Ghana to become an upper middle-income country and expressed hope that the administration's reset will include raising ambition to become a developed economy within the next 20 years. He suggested that the Ghana development finance platform be used to coordinate development assistance flow, assess progress on policy reforms and programmes, and ensure that resources are not duplicative, wasted, or misaligned with the development vision.
Regarding long-term agreements with major external financing partners, Dr Amoako cited Pakistan's 10-year agreement with the World Bank, which provided US$20 billion in financial support. He urged the government to explore similar avenues for Ghana's economic reset and transformation. On domestic revenue mobilisation, he called for effective strategies to curb illicit financial flows, harness remittances, and ensure fair taxation to fuel public services and investments.
Dr Amoako outlined the overall goal of the strategy as significantly increasing financing coupled with rigorous expenditure management over the next ten years to support development, underpinned by a strong accountability mechanism. While applauding President John Dramani Mahama for the dialogue, he recommended focusing discussions on concrete policy reforms, institutional strengthening, and strategic investments to stabilise the economy, drive growth, and create jobs in the medium to long term.
