President John Mahama’s recent promise to the Ghanaian people that his government will start putting money into their pockets in 2017 is an act of Presidential humility to a fault.
This is because, according to Kempes Papa Nii Ofosuware, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Tema East, the current government, which is a continuation of the Mills regime has put more money into the pockets of Ghanaians than any other government.
In an exclusive interview in Accra, Kempes used a very simple analysis to clearly explain the point.
He points out that, broadly speaking, there are two types of employees – private sector employees and public sector employees.
O the two, the ones that government has a direct responsibility for putting money in their pockets are the public sector workers because these are government employees.
For the private sector employees, because they are not directly salaried workers of government, government’s responsibility towards them in terms of putting money in their pockets is indirect.
Kemps points out that government has put more money into pockets of Ghanaians because of the mega effects of the implementation of the Single Spine Salary policy.
Under this policy, he points out, a police officer who earned GH¢800 (8000, 000 old cedis) under the current regime.
“Unless you want me to believe that such a police officer is not a Ghanaian, then you cannot say that money has not increased in his pocket,” Kempes said.
With the Single Spine Salary policy covering every single public sector worker in Ghana, the policy has led to astronomical increase in salaries across board. It is estimated that there are over 600,000 public sector employees around the country.
Kemps Ofosuware explained that Government’s responsibility towards the private sector, in the issue of putting money into the pockets of Ghanaians is indirect.
“And that indirect responsibility is mainly in the form of creating the enabling environment for the private sector players to create wealth for themselves. Creating such an enabling environment is mainly in the form of building infrastructure!” he said.
In this regard, he urged The Enquirer to look around and see whether massive infrastructural development is not going on.
On the basis of the current government’s implementation of single spine and the massive infrastructural development that is going on, he said he humbly disagrees with the President on the impression that it is only from 2017 that monies will be put in the pockets of Ghanaians.
“The President is already doing that!” He said.
He dismissed the argument of the detractors of government that infrastructural development is not a good yardstick for measuring the performance of the government asking what else is more proper.
He queried whether those who argue against infrastructural development as yardstick will have anything else to point to if that factor is taken out as yardstick for measuring performance.
Indeed, it has been said in many quarters that if infrastructural development were taken out in the measurement of performances by government, the erstwhile Kufuor regime would be left with nothing but scandals as its legacy after 8 years in government.
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