The purpose and objective of the Forum according to the ruling government was to discuss and develop a national consensus on policy actions that will address the current economic and financial difficulties that threaten a social upheaval arising from widespread unemployment and financial hardships of our people.
Fellow citizens I am glad to say that our Party honoured the invitation
because we deemed it an honourable duty to respond to the call of our
nation and respect the constitutional institutions of the state
including the Presidency.
The conception of the Forum as building consensus on economic
development policy issues was however, not sufficiently indicative of an
act in good faith.
The invitation from the Government from the onset did not disclose the
position of the Party on underlying pertinent issues that could possibly
vitiate the purpose and usefulness of the forum,
The Government neither disclosed the status of its Manifesto and Better
Ghana Agenda in relation to the National Economic Forum to give a firm
assurance of a commitment to an implementation of its outcomes.
Our option in the circumstances was to reduce the level of our participation in the forum to an observer status.
The concept note of the Forum was another disincentive to participate
in the discussions of the Forum. It was our hope the forum will provide
the opportunity to review the foundation and direction of our
development policy over the last thirty (30) years which has resulted in
jobless economic growth and massive youth unemployment.
The note however revealed a commitment to the same neo-liberal economic
development policy framework that has imposed severe hardship on our
people in pursuit of macroeconomic stability by severe austerity
measures.
Our Party’s Nkrumaist economic development policy approach of the
intervention of government to promote investments in the human and
material resources of our nation for the production of goods and
services to satisfy our needs and export is unalterably opposed to this
neo-liberal economic development policy of wage freeze, retrenchment and
redeployment of labour, heavy taxation and high interest rates.
These are irreconcilable economic development policy differences
between our party and the direction of deliberations by the concept note
of the National Economic Forum.
Indeed the conditions that necessitated the National Economic Forum
after thirty two years of implementation of policies of structural
adjustments and fiscal austerity vindicates the alternative Nkrumaist
development policy that is informed by our history of slavery and
colonialism and driven by a transformation of the colonial economy or
decolonisation.
We therefore renew our unwavering dedication and commitment to the
responsibility of colonial freedom to demonstrate the capability of our
people to develop and manage our economy for prosperity.
Fellow citizens, the path and solution to the economic difficulties of
our country is the election of a CPP government for an implementation of
an economic development programme that is inspired and defined by our
struggle for political and economic freedom to fulfill our mission in
history.
Source: Samia Yaba Nkrumah, chair of CPP
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