LOANS, PADS AND FADS: THE TRIAL OF COMMON SENSE IN GHANA TODAY.

hmmmm. I do not know how to begin today's post because there is a lot to talk about. But lets start with the obvious controversial fad now: the m-pad discussions (Mahama Pad discussions). For me, my attitude is not to be too dismissive outrightly of the project. I choose to analyze it further. Fortunately, someone has been kind enough to share the project appraisal from the world bank so I trust that I will be in a better position to comment on it when I am done reading it. Initially, I admit it sounds outrageous and ill conceived but well, I am not the repository of all wisdom so we shall see.

My more pressing concern is the fact that Government intends to spend $4.3 Million on each secondary it is going to build under this loan. If you do a quick check, that about 13.76 million ghana cedis. THAT IS OUTRAGEOUS. IT IS DUBIOUS. How on earth could this have been approved by parliament? In a country where we claim that the price of a six classroom block with ancillary facilities is 350,000 in 2014, what is the justification for a single day secondary school costing 13.76 million ghana cedis? Will the building be coated in gold? Come on. That is way too much.

Aside the obvious outrageous nature of this deal, an even greater problem with the management of the economy is made evident with this proposal. So when it came to setting up an entrepreneurial fund for the country, the managers of the economy thought that 10 million ghana cedis was enough. What is glaring is that that is less than the cost of building a single secondary school. So entrepreneurial development and empowerment in a jobless economy like Ghana's has been given less priority than a single secondary school? Whats wrong with us? Do the managers of the economy understand what it takes to create jobs and help the citizenry get more money in their pockets to pay the ever increasing taxes? What are we trying to achieve? Do they know what they are up to?

I recently accused a government spokesperson of lacking the requisite knowledge to be a board member or to even comment on the matters he was seeking to present himself as knowledgeable on. I was harshly questioned and an attempt was made to ridicule me. But, if indeed the managers of the economy understand what they are doing, why this? What is going on?