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Even though the government has made satisfactory progress in executing its 2012 manifesto, it is still behind schedule in advancing its Better Ghana Agenda, IMANI Ghana has said.


A study conducted by IMANI Ghana, a policy think tank, gave the government a mark of 47 per cent in its overall implementation of 542 promises made under its 2012 manifesto.

Presenting the progress report at a workshop in Accra yesterday, Mr Emmanuel Buodi Mensah, an economist with IMANI Ghana, said the study identified five thematic areas the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government set out to improve: a strong and robust economy, good governance, social protection, education and infrastructural development.

Robust economy
About robust economy, Mr Mensah said the government made 120 promises, some of which were that it would ensure fiscal consolidation, introduce an improved monetary policy and expand private sector participation in the economy as the engine of growth, as well as mechanise agriculture through the introduction of improved farming techniques.

However, IMANI Ghana’s report stated that the government’s score of 36 per cent on the economy was the poorest of the five thematic areas identified.

That, he said, was as a result of the energy crisis which the government promised to fix by 2013 by increasing the installed generating capacity of the Akosombo Dam from 2,444 mega watts to 5,000.

Mr Mensah said what the government had been able to install was 402 mega watts in two-and-a-half years, with the present installed capacity increasing to 2,846.

He noted that the government had only one-and-a-half years to install the remaining capacity to bring it to its election manifesto of 5,000 megawatts, saying it would take prioritising and strategic planning to achieve that target, given the timeline available.

Good governance
On good governance which could lead to economic growth and empowerment, the government scored 43 per cent, Mr Mensah said.

On the Right to Information Bill and the Whistle Blowers bill which are all tenets of good governance, the government, according to IMANI Ghana, did little.

The report said the government was yet to pass the two bills into law even though they were 90 per cent complete.

He also said that the government structure had been improved through Information Communication Technology with the introduction of the E-governance which sought to bring government agencies and ministries under one umbrella.

He added that political immorality was being tackled under laws such as the Public Service Audit, Judgement Debt Commission, as well as a healthy public sector reforms.

Social Sector
On the Social Sector, Ms Maud Martei, assistant research director of IMANI, said even though there were critical gaps, the government was working on its health-for-all project.

She said the government’s promise to compile data for non-communicable diseases was also on course, while more doctors and nurses had been trained to improve the doctor-patient ratio.

She stated that the National Health Insurance Scheme had increased its coverage both in terms of registering more people and increasing the number of diseases to include mental health.

She, however, raised concerns about the sustainability of the scheme, which the NDC manifesto said it would address.

Infrastructure
On infrastructure, the government scored the highest mark of 51.36 per cent for the provision of oil and gas infrastructure and improvement in the road sector, especially the urban roads network.

Ms Martei said of the 20,000 boreholes the manifesto promised, the government had been able to sink 1,200 while the national science park promised was yet to be undertaken.

Concerning education, she said the government was determined to construct 200 community senior high schools but at the moment only 50 were being constructed, with one completed.

She said another 50 were about to be awarded on contract for work to begin.

The President of IMANI, Mr Franklin Cudjoe, in his welcome address, said the study was based on the 542 promises the government made in its 2012 manifesto and how far it had translated them into action.

He said government programmes, especially a robust economy, could be achieved effortlessly if good governance was given maximum attention.