The Coalition for Democratic Accountability And Inclusive Governance known as “Citizens’ Coalition” has called on the President, H.E Nana Akufo Addo as matter of urgency to act now to reduce the current hardship that has engulfed the citizenry.
According to the coalition, going to IMF will not solve the current problems rather the government must look within to enforce policies that will help the populace.
Adding that, “the response from the government has woefully ineffective. “Unfortunately, the government’s response has been woefully ineffective.”
The Coalition cautioned in its maiden presser that the approach of insisting that the precipitous decline of the economy could be fully explained by only the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war was extremely unhelpful and, in many ways, has influenced the government’s response to the crisis.
The response was then to hang our entire short to medium solution to ongoing negotiations with the IMF. As the CEDI plunged into a free fall and basic food prices rose uncontrollably at the markets, the country and government waited with bated breath for drips of news to emerge from Washington, DC. Ultimately, none of these announcements changed the realities on the ground.
Moreover, the lack of emotional intelligence in the utterances of government representatives added to the pain, frustration, and anger of citizens who felt that either government did not care or had a clue about resolving the crisis. The latter feeds a scary thought that the ship is sinking. This posture was worsened recently by the President’s own comments and posture on his tour of parts of the country. For some people, it gave affirmation that indeed the ship was about to sink and added to the despondency.”
With no hesitation, the coalition has urged President Nana Akufo Addo to dismiss the Finance Minister Mr Ken Ofori Atta from post and reshuffle ministers.
Given the limited economic responses available to the government to address the challenges that confront citizens, the Citizens’ Coalition has suggested five (5) specific morale-boosting actions that should signal readiness to subject its leadership to accountability, cut expenditures, plug leakages in government spending and tackle corruption.
- We endorse the call by many citizens, the majority of NPP MPs and many well-meaning Ghanaians who have asked for the dismissal of the Finance Minister and his Deputies. We commend the Majority of MPs for taking this important step as his dismissal or resignation would restore some confidence in Ghana’s financial market. This should be done without delay.
- The President should urgently take morale-boosting measures by reshuffling his Ministers. Given what has transpired over the last year, it is evident that they have not been excellent. Certainly, the team that led us to the current crisis cannot steer us out of it.
- The President should reduce the total number of Ministers and Deputies to no more than 70. This will signal a clear commitment to reducing public expenditure as corroborated by the Majority Leader sometime in July. The Citizens’ Coalition welcomes the call by Occupy Ghana for a lean government. Based on the Professor Yaa Ntiamoah Baidu Presidential Committee on Emoluments Report of June 2020, the average monthly basic salary of a minister/deputy minister is GHS 30,000. Reducing the current 85 Ministers and Deputies to 70, particularly deputy ministers. will save the taxpayer more than GHS 5 million per year. In addition, the state will save the cost of a fully furnished official residence or 20% of consolidated salary in lieu of housing, 24-hour security, one 4-wheel drive and one salon vehicle fueled and chauffeured, medical and a gratuity of 4 month’s salary per year of service for each Minister/Deputy Minister.
- Government must urgently convene a national stakeholder platform for a discussion and citizens’ buy-in into the medium-term development plan for the country. We should learn critical lessons from the challenges of the rollout of the E-Levy and not introduce a ‘fait accompli’ proposal to people through Parliament by way of a national budget. These ideas should be discussed extensively before it is finalized with the IMF and Parliament.
- Parliament has resumed sitting for the last session of this year. The Cabinet must without delay lay the Code of Conduct for Public Officer Holders Bill before the House for deliberation and passage.
Below is the FULL STATEMENT:
COALITION FOR DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY AND INCLUSIVE GOVERNANCE (Citizens’ Coalition)
C1173/12 Kotobabi Road, Pig Farm, Accra. P. O. Box GP 17921, Accra-Ghana.
citizenscoalitiongh@gmail.com; +233-302-230483
Press Statement on Ghana’s Current Governance and Economy Crisis
International Press Center, Ridge, Wednesday 26th October 2022 @ 2 PM Introduction
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the media, and citizens of Ghana.
We have called this press conference to share our grave and deep concerns about the deteriorating economic conditions in our country, and the government’s turbid response so far. Also, at this press conference, we want to make some specific demands that we believe will help build confidence in the State and offer some relief to citizens.
As you may recall, the Citizens’ Coalition was launched on 4th July 2022, with a Mission to establish a culture of accountable and transparent governance that actively and consciously responds to citizens’ demands and promotes human rights, constitutionalism, and the national interest. Since then, the Coalition has worked to re-establish this culture of accountability through sustained advocacy, including a street protest to compel the Auditor-General to comply with Ghana’s asset disclosure laws and to exercise his surcharge and disallowance powers, engagements over the mismanagement of public lands, among others.
(The Coalition continues to engage with the Auditor-General on these matters and another meeting is scheduled for next week to discuss the way forward. In addition, the Coalition remains engaged in issues relating to the mismanagement and abuse of public lands including issues arising from the Achimota Forest re-designation. We have written to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources on these matters, but have received no response.
We stated from the beginning that Ghana must change starting with those entrusted with public power and resources to serve in the interest of the people otherwise we risk the survival of our democracy. We want to assure the public that we will persist with our insistence on an accountable and transparent government. We will explore all options available to us within the remit of the 1992 Constitution to ensure that people entrusted with power submit themselves to scrutiny and act solely in the best interest of the Ghanaian people.)
Since the launch of the Coalition in July, the economic situation has worsened significantly. Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, as you know so well, between July and now, the price of staples like kenkey have risen from GH₵2 per ball to 3, 4 and even GH₵5; a 5KG bag of rice has gone up from GH₵50 up to GH₵110 in some cases; 25 litres of oil has gone up from GH₵600 to GH₵1,400, the general cost of water to drink (‘pure water’ sachet water), from 20 pesewas per sachet, with some going for three (3) for 50 pesewas to 40 and 50 pesewas per sachet. This also means those who have to buy water to bathe in the morning or use the public latrines face undignified choices.
Similarly, the cost of essential medicines, particularly those on chronic life-saving medicines, including our seniors, are facing literally life and death situations if solutions are not found. The cost of transportation has escalated- it now costs GH₵9 to travel from Kasoa to Accra, GH₵6.50 from Madina to Circle, GHS35 from Tamale to Salaga and GH₵25 from Bonsu Nkwanta to Asawinso just to mention a few. Painfully, these fares are due for an additional 19% increase by next week.
The price of petrol has also risen astronomically from almost GH₵12 in July to GH₵16 in October while diesel has moved to about GH₵16. Lastly, the fast depreciation of the cedi means many people have already lost significant value on their savings and investments, and for those who have to service loans pegged to the dollar, particularly those who are trying to own a home as well as businesses who have to import essential goods, are facing unprecedented challenges.
Fellow citizens, we have to remember that in all of these there is an army of unemployed youth who before this crisis was feeling a sense of hopelessness and now are just feeling overwhelmed and numbed by the void and uncertainty of the future facing them. For many in this bracket and low-income brackets, it simply means going hungry more times in a day than they need to. In fact, addressing youth unemployment and the basic needs for young people’s survival demands a deliberate and concerted effort more than what has been seen so far. This is an imminent threat to our national security.
Government’s Response
Unfortunately, the government’s response has been woefully ineffective. The Coalition cautioned in its maiden presser that the approach of insisting that the precipitous decline of the economy could be fully explained by only the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war was extremely unhelpful and, in many ways, has influenced the government’s response to the crisis. The response was then to hang our entire short to medium solution to ongoing negotiations with the IMF. As the CEDI plunged into a free fall and basic food prices rose uncontrollably at the markets, the country and government waited with bated breath for drips of news to emerge from Washington, DC. Ultimately, none of these announcements changed the realities on the ground.
Moreover, the lack of emotional intelligence in the utterances of government representatives added to the pain, frustration, and anger of citizens who felt that either government did not care or had a clue about resolving the crisis. The latter feeds a scary thought that the ship is sinking. This posture was worsened recently by the President’s own comments and posture on his tour of parts of the country. For some people, it gave affirmation that indeed the ship was about to sink and added to the despondency.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have stated in our earlier communication that the challenges of misgovernance, underdevelopment and stagnation we face as a country go beyond. the NPP and the NDC, and reflects how we have practised democratic governance when it comes to accountability, transparency and responsiveness. This crisis offers a rare opportunity to take bold and courageous steps that will not only restore some confidence and repair the strained relationship between citizens and government, but help chart a pathway forward through the crisis. Consequently, the Citizen’s Coalition makes the following urgent demands of the government within its power and capacity to deliver:
Governance
Given the limited economic responses available to the government to address the challenges that confront citizens, there are specific morale-boosting actions that should signal readiness to subject its leadership to accountability, cut expenditures, plug leakages in government spending and tackle corruption. In this regard:
1. We endorse the call by many citizens, the majority of NPP MPs and many well-meaning Ghanaians who have asked for the dismissal of the Finance Minister and his Deputies. We commend the Majority of MPs for taking this important step as his dismissal or resignation would restore some confidence in Ghana’s financial market. This should be done without delay.
2. The President should urgently take morale-boosting measures by reshuffling his Ministers. Given what has transpired over the last year, it is evident that they have not been excellent. Certainly, the team that led us to the current crisis cannot steer us out of it.
3. The President should reduce the total number of Ministers and Deputies to no more than 70. This will signal a clear commitment to reducing public expenditure as corroborated by the Majority Leader sometime in July. The Citizens’ Coalition welcomes the call by Occupy Ghana for a lean government. Based on the Professor Yaa Ntiamoah Baidu Presidential Committee on Emoluments Report of June 2020, the average monthly basic salary of a minister/deputy minister is GHS 30,000.
Reducing the current 85 Ministers and Deputies to 70, particularly deputy ministers. will save the taxpayer more than GHS 5 million per year. In addition, the state will save the cost of a fully furnished official residence or 20% of consolidated salary in lieu of housing, 24-hour security, one 4-wheel drive and one salon vehicle fueled and chauffeured, medical and a gratuity of 4 month’s salary per year of service for each Minister/Deputy Minister.
4. Government must urgently convene a national stakeholder platform for a discussion and citizens’ buy-in into the medium-term development plan for the country. We should learn critical lessons from the challenges of the rollout of the E-Levy and not introduce a ‘fait accompli’ proposal to people through Parliament by way of a national budget. These ideas should be discussed extensively before it is finalized with the IMF and Parliament.
5. Parliament has resumed sitting for the last session of this year. The Cabinet must without delay lay the Code of Conduct for Public Officer Holders Bill before the House for deliberation and passage.
Energy and Natural Resources Governance
A significant component of our national debt and current predicament arises from the governance of the energy and natural resources sub-sector. CSOs have been raising concerns about the many anti-developmental policy decisions in the energy and natural resource sector, the recent one being the decision to give a mind-boggling ‘sweetheart’ deal to a single company, GENSER, with the risk of the country losing $1.5 billion while we desperately search for double this amount from international donors. The energy sector remains key to the revival of this economy but the self-inflicted haemorrhaging and misgovernance of the sector must stop if we are serious about getting out of this mess.
1. The Citizens’ Coalition reiterates its call for the government to cancel or renegotiate the GENSER agreement. In addition, the policy on who regulates the pipelines for transporting gas and who owns the infrastructure must be clarified and firmed up.
2. The Citizens’ Coalition remains opposed to the AGYAPA Agreement. We consider it dead and buried.
Economy
Citizens are facing unprecedented challenges with rising inflation and cedi depreciation. Citizens and governments must think outside the box to deal with the immediate symptoms of the problem, particularly food inflation and the rising cost of fuel, transportation, and health care. The Citizen Coalition calls on the government to immediately:
1. Work through the Agriculture Ministry to identify staples whose prices are driven by transportation costs and inefficient systems of delivery to urban markets from farm to market.
2. Review the current policy to force the sale of FX from mining companies depriving commercial banks of forex for trading. Certainly, there is a need to have tighter controls on the use of forex at commercial banks so it is not used to hoard dollars.
3. Strongly recommend that the government encourage public and private sector employers to return to the flexi working or work-from-home schemes deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and after. This will help mitigate the pressure on particularly young people and those in lower income brackets to manage the cost of transport.
4. Consider adding the supply of life-saving chronic medicines to the list of critical items that need forex from the Bank of Ghana.
5. We strongly support ongoing talks between the government and banks to look at domestic debt restructuring.
6. We also strongly call on the president to, as a matter of urgency address the nation on what it intends to do to address the worsening economic situation. As the country wraps up a suitable IMF program, citizens need to be made aware of what lies ahead.
- As we chart a way out of our economic woes through an IMF program, the government must ensure that whatever agreement will be tabled must be citizen-centred – one that reflects the people’s aspirations.
Ladies and gentlemen, there are important matters of policy and programs for the medium to long term that must be addressed courageously. At this moment the right signals have to be sent to appease citizens and assuage their fears. The President must listen to Ghanaians and lead the nation. His Ministers and Deputies must work to find short-term solutions to stem the tide of uncertainty and fear. A national stakeholder forum can help to develop consensus on priorities for the medium to long term. We remain committed to our duty as citizens to ensure public power and resources are used primarily to benefit citizens.
We totally commit to the survival of our democracy despite its challenges. As citizens, we must take on the responsibility to hold our governments to account in between elections so we can correct misbehaviour early on before it undermines our commonwealth. Coups and other forms of unconstitutional changes in government are never the answers to our economic and governance woes which is why citizens and civil society exist to hold duty-bearers accountable. The citizens who jubilated over coups in Mali, Guinea and Burkina and now experiencing the full brutality of military rule, it should be a lesson to us all.
Lastly, we want to assure all Ghanaians that we will create and communicate platforms for citizens to share their views, grievances and the sort of relief they need in the coming days. We demand that the government should, in the spirit of democracy, which is supposed to be for and by the people, listen to the people and take action.
Thank you.
God Bless Ghana!
God Bless us all!
For further information, please contact
Name: Abdulkarim Mohammed
Designation: Interim Coordinator
Telephone: +233 20 811 8333
Email: citizenscoalitiongh@gmail.com
