Although successive governments have managed to put Ghana on a relatively stable and high growth path and achieved significant reduction in poverty, inequality still persists in Ghana—a Report on Inequality Diagnostics for Ghana has concluded.
To bridge the inequality gab, the Report recommended a further deepening of inclusive growth policies and strategies through enhancing general access to social amenities and services by investing more in economic and social infrastructure while ensuring that financial constraints for poor households are minimized, as it negatively affects access to some of these services.
In addition, the Report said, policy makers should ensure that any programme of enhanced investment and economic infrastructure should address existing regional or locational disparities in the distribution of these services; enhance existing social protection programmes by expanding coverage, address targeting challenges and embed production inclusion strategies into these programmes as well as address gender constraints in the labour market that negatively affect labour market outcomes for women.
Presenting the key policy messages of the Report at its launch in Accra on Friday, November 27, 2020, Dr Richmond Atto-Ankomah, Dr Nketsi Owoo and Dr Monica Lambon-Quayefio, all of the Ghana Node of ACEIR, University of Ghana, Legon, underscored the importance of enhanced access to social amenities, primary and secondary education, provision of social safety nets and the distribution of economic resources deliberately to ensure the equality of opportunities in every part of the country in reducing the inequality gap, adding that high dependency rations were associated with worsening inequalities.
In his remarks at the launch of the Report, Prof. Felix Ankoma Asante, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID), University of Ghana, and chairman for the launch event, urged all stakeholders to support the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA)— a network of 16 of Africa’s flagship universities —in its efforts to mitigate persisting inequalities in Africa.
Prof. Asante disclosed that ARUA was supporting all CoEs with two million Pounds Sterling each to initiate various research projects.
He congratulated the Ghana Node of the African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research (ACEIR) for undertaking the research project and urged it to engage Ghanaian sector ministers on the report in order to help influence policy decisions.
Prof. Robert Darko Osei, Co-ordinator, ACEIR, Ghana Node, University of Ghana, Legon, congratulated the Agence France de Development (AFD) for funding the Inequality Diagnostics for Ghana research project.
Prof. Osei noted that the Report was the result of interactive relationships and partnerships, and stressed the need to work harder on issues of inequalities.
He said ACEIR directly addressed the analytical and measurement needs required for policy interventions and civil society action to turn the tide against inequality.
Speaking at the launch of the Report, Dr Christopher Cottete, Country Director, AFD, noted that co-operation and solidarity were key elements in research projects and pledged the commitment of AFD to partnering strong research centres in undertaking projects such as the Inequality Diagnostics for Ghana project.
On his part, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, foundation Secretary‐General of ARUA, said the objective of ARUA was to help African universities become globally competitive.
Prof. Aryeetey said the goal of ARUA, was to enhance research and graduate training in member universities through a number of channels, including the setting up of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) to be hosted by member universities.
He said the ARUA CoEs were intended to be focal points for aggregating world-class researchers from member universities to undertake collaborative research in priority thematic areas while providing opportunities for graduate students from the region and elsewhere to work with the researchers.
The CoE, he said, was, therefore, an assembly point for good and committed researchers and students seeking to do cutting-edge work.
Prof. Murray Leibbrandt, Director, ACEIR, University of Cape Town, South Africa, in a speech, noted that inequalities were a burden on growth and social link, led to political instability, reduced the effectiveness of public policies and hindered development.
Prof. Leibbrandt also noted that economic growth was often considered the most effective driver for reducing poverty and inequalities which were, however, increasing within societies.
He, therefore, stressed the need to analyze the scale and nature of the inequalities in order to come up with the most suitable drivers to tackle them in the fields of education, health, gender, the labour market, tax reforms and territorial dynamics, among others.
The establishment ACEIR directly addresses the analytical and measurement needs that are required for policy interventions and civil society action to turn the tide against inequality.
Understanding how data from each country work together to illuminate the status of inequality – and the implications for policy – is, therefore, the important intellectual agenda of the Centre.
Source: G.D. Zaney, Esq.
