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A listening government, is a type of government who actively listen to its citizens and experts; for more ideas, insights and strategies to help Govern the the state.
An effective listening by a government gives it knowledge and perspectives; that increases its leadership capacity; whiles opening to feedback and new ideas from experts, also help the leaders in government to learn more and grow the nation.
A government who feels it know too much; and refuses to listen or engage its citizens, always fail; leading the country into hardships and many problems with its citizens.
We saw how the Nana Addo-Bawumia-Ofori Atta led government turned a deaf hear, to the country’s financial experts and the citizens, during the introduction of the controversial electronic levy.
After the series warnings and advises from experts, battles between the Majority and the Minority caucus in parliament, and heated debates in the country on the e-levy (which was subsequently passed, and implemented), what do we see today? The economy is continuously failing, while the e-levy tax is gradually becoming useless.
Again; today… due to the government’s failure to listen and pay attention to the warning signs, that were given by the market, the Standards and Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings, has push Ghana’s debt further into speculative territory; lowering its foreign and local currency sovereign ratings, to CCC+/C from B-/B, on Friday, 5 August 2022.
According to the S&P, its outlook for the Ghana is negative, “reflecting Ghana’s limited commercial financing options, and constrained external and fiscal buffers.The Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict in Russia have magnified Ghana’s fiscal, and external imbalances”.
The S&P added that, the “demand for foreign currency has been driven higher by several factors, nonresident outflows from domestic government bond markets, dividend payments to foreign investors, and higher costs for refined petroleum products”.
It again revealed that, Ghana has also been affected by a lack of access to Eurobond markets.
Many Ghanaian experts have reacted to these latest developments; saying; that the Nana Addo-Bawumia led Government, refused to listen to warnings, hence the S&P Global Rating downgrade for Ghana.
A recent tweet by Mr. Bright Simons, Vice President of Imani Africa also hit back at government saying; “The govt of Ghana was told, that if it failed to signal more forcefully to the market, its intentions to aggressive fiscal consolidation, such conduct will trigger another downgrade. So sad that it refused to listen. As usual”.
The point is…His Excellency President Nana Akufo-Addo; during his inauguration speech on January 7, 2017 challenged Ghanaians to be ‘citizens not spectators’. To be citizens; in this context means all Ghanaians should be ‘onboard’; and that all advises, suggestions and ideas from the public, are welcomed for the development of the State.
This call from the president resonates with conceptions of citizenship, that prioritize the state, as the most salient arena of engagement. So if the president indeed called on the Ghanaian public to be citizens…why then did it turn a deaf hear to advises; which has led the country’s recent sad stories?
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