From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:GHANA: NO RADICAL CHANGE EXPECTED IN ECONOMIC POLICIES
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 02:02:10 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Africa, southern
Reference: Trade & Finance
Title: GHANA: NO RADICAL CHANGE EXPECTED IN ECONOMIC POLICIES


an inter press service feature

by mawusi afele

accra, nov 2 (ips) -- while ghana's eight million voters may be
wondering whether tuesday's presidential poll will offer
political change or continuity, western donors have little to
worry about in terms of economic policy.

none of the five presidential candidates are promising a
departure from the donor-backed economic recovery programme
(erp) introduced by incumbent flt lt jerry rawlings in 1983.

the programme represented a dramatic u-turn by rawlings. the
fire-brand revolutionary became the african darling of the world
bank and the international monetary fund (imf).

his embrace of market forces caused deep division within the
ruling provisional national defence council (pndc). however,
rawlings has pursued erp wholeheartedly.

while annual growth rates have been averaged around five
percent since the introduction of the erp, ghana has among the
lowest wage rates in the world, and the bulk of investment still
comes from donor programmes.

nine years down the road, the world bank and the imf appear
ensconced in the west african state and their position not the
least threatened despite the possibility of a change in
government.

during seven months of campaigning -- despite acknowledging the
hardships of erp on the average ghanaian -- none of the five
presidential candidates has raised a finger about their presence
or offered an alternative programme beyond tinkering with the
original.

they also uniformly, and predictably, promised the 15 million
ghanaians the panacea for the country and good times ahead if
they are elected.

''there is no radical change in their position although they
differ on how to achieve results'', said one western diplomat.

western multilateral and bilateral donors have sunk billions
of dollars into ghana's economic recovery programme and
rawlings's national democratic congress (ndc) party has been
pointing to the positive gains of his 11-year rule.

an impressive growth rate, low inflation, rehabilitation of
infrastructure that was on the point of collapse, and investment
in the key foreign exchange-earning industries of cocoa and
gold. (more/ips)


ghana: no (2)

the opposition parties have, however, been trumpeting the
erp's adverse effects such as high unemployment, high cost of
living, low wages, low investment, industrial unrest and high
debts. the opposition says it will do better once it is in
power.

the centre-right new patriotic party (npp), the ndc's chief
rival, is opposed to state's involvement in the economy.

in its manifesto, the npp says: ''in place of controls,
administrative allocations or any socialist-type dirigisms, the
npp is committed to free enterprise in partnership as a mode of
economic organisation''.

once in power, the npp commits itself to giving ''freedom to
the private sector'' while the government creates the social and
economic infrastructure and legal framework for a free
enterprise that would promote economic growth.

''the business of government is governance and not business,
and an npp government would create an enabling environment that
will allow the private sector to flourish'', says albert adu-
boahen, the party's presidential candidate.

rural development and an export-led growth will be the
linch-pin of the party's strategy while a ''one-stop''
investment centre will be the key to attract investors.

the pndc's red-tape, bureaucracy, and rawlings' apparent
distrust of foreign and ghanaian private capital, has been a
powerful disincentive to investment here.

npp economics spokesperson kofi apraku says the party will
go further than rawlings' government to privatise fully cocoa
trade and state banks.

the ndc's economic policies are a little more than business
as usual. in his campaign speeches, rawlings has been stressing
that the collapse of the international cocoa and gold prices
will continue to be a hard slog for the country after the
election.

appealing for continued belt tightening, the 45-year-old
ghanaian leader has accused the opposition of making false
promises.

his supporters believe it is rawlings that has done the
spadework. only a regime as uncompromising and authoritarian as
his own could get ghana on its feet from which the opposition
may reap the benefit. (end/ips/ma/oa/apc/92)