19th June 2024 4:10:06 PM
2 mins readDirector of the Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER), Professor Peter Quartey, has underscored the hidden costs associated with aid dependency.He pointed out that Ghana's heavy reliance on external financial assistance undermines the country's policy autonomy and leads to economic impoverishment.According to Prof.
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Quartey, despite the perception of foreign aid as free money, it comes with significant strings attached.“We receive aid, you will think it is free money but aid is not free; it comes at a cost. Your country loses its independence. Your policies are not independent,” he told the Host, Kojo Yankson on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM on Wednesday, June 19.Highlighting the adverse impacts of aid dependency, Prof.
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Quartey emphasized that foreign donors often impose policies, resulting in frequent policy reversals and instability.“Sometimes policies are dictated. So we do not have absolute independence when it comes to policies; that is why we have policy reversals. We introduce a policy and then we remove it,” he said on Thursday.
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“Sometimes we introduce policies that are very harsh, which brings hardships to the citizens and forces them to jump on the streets to demonstrate,” he said.Professor Peter Quartey, Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER), has underscored the hidden costs associated with aid dependency.
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He pointed out that Ghana's heavy reliance on external financial assistance undermines the country's policy autonomy and leads to economic impoverishment.According to Prof. Quartey, despite the perception of foreign aid as free money, it comes with significant strings attached."In receiving aid, one might think it's free money, but it's not. Aid comes with conditions.
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Your country loses its independence; your policies are not autonomous," he explained during an interview with Kojo Yankson on Joy FM's Super Morning Show.Highlighting the adverse impacts of aid dependency, Prof. Quartey emphasized that foreign donors often impose policies, resulting in frequent policy reversals and instability."External influences sometimes dictate policies, depriving us of policy independence.
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This leads to policy reversals where policies are introduced and then abruptly removed," he stated.Prof. Quartey further cautioned that externally influenced policies could lead to severe socio-economic consequences, often causing hardships that prompt public demonstrations.His remarks follow a keynote speech by UK House of Lords member Lord Paul Boateng at a leadership lecture at UPSA in Accra.
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Lord Boateng urged Ghana to reduce reliance on foreign aid, emphasizing that such dependence impedes significant national growth.
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