Senchi forum influencing current gov't policies - Terkper

Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, has revealed that the economic deliberations that took place in Senchi a couple of months ago has informed many activities and policies that the Mahama-led administration is currently implementing.

According to him, the delay in making the Senchi Report public is not a deliberate attempt to stall the release of the document, but only a means of ensuring that the government has “a good report.”

He has, therefore, given the assurance that the government will not neglect the 22-point communiqué that was agreed on by the participants at the Senchi National Economic Forum (NEF).

Some two months after the NEF, Ghanaians are yet to be made privy to the full contents of the report; this is in spite of government’s repeated assurance.

The Forum, which saw various Ministers, Heads of agencies, stakeholders and political figures in attendance, was aimed at soliciting experts’ advice on how to halt the downward spiral of the cedi and also resolve the economic challenges bedeviling the country.

Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur, the brain behind the forum, later told participants that the report will be made available by May 12 - May 15 this year.

But that has not happened, and Ghanaians have been asking the current administration pressing questions as to its release date. They also want the government to outline the policies it has formulated in line with the Senchi report to bring the much-needed economic relief.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi, live in the studios of Peace FM during the station’s flagship programme "Kokrokoo", the Finance Minister again assured that Ghanaians will surely reap the benefits of the Senchi NEF.

According to him, the report will soon be released, adding that the government took into consideration the opinions and measures by the participants to revamp the economy.

"...the Senchi as an event has informed many activities and policies that are ongoing even as we speak,” he said.

He told the host that the nation "will see benefits of Senchi across various Ministries, Departments and agencies who were represented there either by their respective Ministries or even heads of these agencies…it isn’t that there is an attempt not to release or stall the release of the report. It is only the quest to make sure that we have a good report and the Senchi as an event has informed many activities and policies that are ongoing even as we speak.”

He thus called on Ghanaians not to lose hope in the incumbent government, saying “we have been through some of these challenges whether it’s the Akosombo Dam going down or…other problems in the past.

“We have surmounted them in our recent past but we have even better opportunities apart from the collective measures that we are taking. There are tangible reasons such as our gas coming on stream to stabilize the supply of gas, being boosted further…our services sector is expanding."