People-centered policy, key to post coronavirus recovery plan - Prof. Bokpin

Professor Godfred Bokpin, Senior Lecturer, University of Ghana Business School, says government needs an inclusive policy that involves the views of Ghanaians in the recovery plan for post-COVID-19.

“Government programmes for post-COVID-19 economic recovery plan must be people-centered, encompassing the ideas of all sectors of the economy for a comprehensive document in ensuring holistic development,” he said.

Prof. Bokpin said this at the 2020 Ghana Economic Forum, organized by the Business and Financial Times under the theme; ”Resetting the Economy Beyond COVID-19; Building Economic Resilience and Self-Sufficiency”.

He said even though the country had seen growth, there was inequality in the system in terms of the wide gap of poverty, unemployment, urging the government to do thorough research to identify the gaps and find lasting solutions to them.

“Let's look to one another, let's go to the streets, let's go to the poor communities and see how they are doing. That is a better measure, that is what we are talking about, people-centered policy. Go to the hospitals and see what is happening, go to the poor communities and see where people sleep. We can't witness that any more after COVID-19”.

Prof. Bokpin said the country had jumped from one crisis to another-from energy to financial sector crisis, stressing that it was prudent for authorities to put in place measures that would withstand the effect of future pandemics.

“We need a resilient financial system to direct growth in the sector. Government must invest appropriately to build a strong economy for sustained development.”

Philip Abradu-Otoo, the Director of Research, Bank of Ghana, said as part of its mandate, it had ensured sound financial stability by providing the needed regulatory reliefs to financial institutions to extend credit facilities to clients.

“We have undertaken a stress test analysis regularly to test the stability of banks and the resilience of the economy and offer the needed advice to these institutions appropriately. We are working hard to ensure that the macro economy was stable to help the banks to operate effectively,” he said.

Julian Opuni, the Managing Director, Fidelity Bank, called on the financial institutions to leverage on technological platforms to transact businesses with their clients in the wake of COVID-19 to get the needed impact.

John Awuah, the Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Association of Bankers, said the banks were recovering from the effect of COVID-19, with stable financial sector due to effective measures in taking advantage of the digital space.

Patience Akyianu, the Chief Executive Officer, Hollard Insurance, appealed to the government to develop a strong cybersecurity insurance policy to protect the companies from fraudulent activities, which had been on the rise.