5% growth target good if … – Prof. Bokpin

Economist, Professor Godfred Bokpin wants government to be cautious in setting ambitious economic growth targets for the country.

According to him, government should rather be concerned with growth that translates into improving the socio-economic conditions of Ghanaians.

President John Mahama over the weekend predicted that Ghana’s economic growth will exceed 5 percent by the end of this year and increase to over 8 percent by end of 2017.

The President explained that a turnaround of some economic indicators such as the energy sector indicate that the economy is showing a sign of recovery.

Though Prof. Bokpin recognizes what he says are developments which may improve Ghana’s economic growth, emphasis should rather be placed on employment creation and bridging the income inequality gap.

“We will also have to interrogate the growth drivers in this discussion; growth coming from the sectors that employ a lot of Ghanaians. Once growth is coming from those sectors then it could also play significantly in wealth distribution and narrow the income inequality gap but we are not seeing that,

“If you see construction doing well today you cannot be excited because it is no longer labour intensive because of the high application of technology in construction today, we may find that the sector is seeing positive growth but it doesn’t mean that sector is solving employment issues,” he stated.

Figures from the Finance Ministry also indicate that the economy grew by 4.9 percent in the first half of this year.

This was against a 5.4 percent growth target set for 2016 and revised to 4.1.

But Professor Bokpin further explained to Citi Business News Ghana cannot be satisfied with the growth drivers that do not address social issues in the country.

“Considering the rate of population growth and other social indicators, we are growing far below our potential and that is the issue of concern,” he noted.

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By: Pius Amiihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana