As part of efforts to deepen the fight against inequality in the Ghanaian society, Civil Society Organisations (CSO) are making a list of key proposals to government in its quest to reducing the gap between the rich and poor.
In effect, they are proposing that government spend sufficiently on universal quality public services that seek to bridge the gap and reduce gender disparity. This was during a gathering organized in Accra this week, which was part of its activities of Global Week of Action against inequality which ends today.
Named the Ghana CSOs platform on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS), they are recommending to government to increase tax revenues by collecting more from those who have more to better fund basic social services; allocate a minimum of 20 percent of government budgets dedicated to initiatives to boost public quality education; allocate a minimum of 15 percent of government budgets to fund the public health sector among others.
According to the 2019 first ever West Africa Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) index Conducted by Oxfam International and Development Finance International, Ghana is one of the least committed to reducing inequality in Africa.
The Index indicates that within the last decade, West African countries recorded the largest increases in wealth. For instance, Ghana’s national wealth within the period rose by 39. However, despite the increase this has not reflected in the lives of its people, the report asserts.
The Group asserts that with an increase of Ghana’s wealth in the last decade, this should have presented an opportunity to improve the lives of many, unfortunately, much of it benefited a selected few.
In fact, Ghana is ranked 12th on social spending, behind Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Mauritania.
The CRI Index measures, compares and ranks Africa’s governments’ commitment to tackling inequality among its citizens based on three main indicators namely level of public spending – most especially on education, healthcare and social protection; taxation; and labour markets.
According to the CSO’s, Ghana makes one of the least investments in health, education and social protection especially for the most vulnerable as the level of inequality between the rich and poor in the country is widening at an alarming rate.
It is in this regard the CSO are reminding government on the need to commit greater proportion of its budget to social spending