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The government’s preoccupation with politics could distract it from the adoption and implementation of economic policies needed to cope with serious economic challenges facing the country and focus on the issues of economic development.

There is a growing popular perception that the government is being distracted from the economic challenges and the formidable tasks of nation building.

The resolution of the current formidable economic challenges requires the designing and implementation of economic reforms for economic stability and growth.

Disillusionment

There is also a growing disillusionment that the NPP government is unable to deliver on its election promises and that its economic management capacity is weak. This disillusionment must be wiped away by affirmative actions to undertake reforms that would meet the growing global challenges.

LG polls

The local government election results, which fell far short of the expectations of both the government and opposition parties, have provoked political battles that threaten to derail the government’s ability to pursue necessary economic policies.

Balanced view

This is not to say that the government has not taken some significant measures for national development. Particularly significant are the actions taken to combat corruption. The government should also be commended for its adherence to due process of the law, though the people may see it as rather slow. Another reason for popular impatience is that many election promises remain unfulfilled.

Economy

Meanwhile, the economy has fared well in the first four months of this year. The economy is estimated to have grown by 5 per cent, and inflation has decelerated. In spite of an increase in the trade deficit due to an increase in imports, the balance of payments recorded a surplus of US$ 1.1 billion owing to increased remittances and earnings from tourism.

The country is facing enormous economic challenges that require the government to focus its attention on resolving these difficult issues rather than be distracted by political battles over local councils.

The recent local government polls have been a severe distraction from the economic challenges facing the country. This preoccupation with who gained and who lost the local polls is a futile distraction that could be costly in the long-term interests of the country.

Besides this, there is a growing impatience that the government was incapable of delivering on the election promises. This could have significant adverse political repercussions for the NPP. Political preoccupations could undermine economic recovery and growth.

Recapitulation

Once again the government is preoccupied with politics that could distract it from the adoption and implementation of economic policies needed to cope with serious economic challenges and ensure economic stability and growth.

Nevertheless, the government has made significant breakthroughs in tackling corruption and ensuring good governance. It has, however, been slow in undertaking economic reforms. There have also been significant efforts at forging ethnic and communal harmony.

Politics

In spite of these gains, the government’s preoccupation with party politics is not conducive for nation building and economic progress. Hopefully the coming months will witness a more effective implementation of economic reforms. The remaining period of the government’s term cannot be frittered away with political rhetoric and political distractions. The government must focus on the implementation of policy reforms and effective implementation of policies. In the coming months the government is likely to face unprecedented challenges of restructuring the country’s export structure by diversifying exports and export markets or face severe setbacks to the economy.

The economic challenges have reached huge proportions owing to the global trade wars and likely recessionary conditions. One of the main criticisms of the government during the local council election campaign was that it had not done enough to solve the economic problems and did not have the capacity to solve economic problems. The opposition also contended that the economic improvements experienced in the first six months were due to the policies adopted by the previous government.

Summing up

The crisis we are facing today on exports is an opportunity to correct a fundamental flaw in our economy. Our dependence on a few exports and a few markets, the narrow number of exports and low volumes make us vulnerable to the vagaries of international trade.

The solution to the fundamental weaknesses is to expand and diversify our export markets, diversify our export products and increase our export volumes in the products we have a decisive comparative advantage. We must also adopt measures to address the obstacles to our exports, such as complying with the conditions necessary for the continuation of the GSP Plus concessions.

The export strategy has to be implemented by strong participation of the private sector. The government has the important role of facilitating exports by improving infrastructure, reducing the costs of production and encouraging foreign investment in export industries.

The government must effectively transform the economy in the coming months. This is critical for achieving economic stability and growth.