We are told that the global economy "stands on the brink of a “chronic” debt-driven recession" - to quote the UK newspaper the Daily Telegraph's James Kirkup and Robert Winnett.
Their filed report posted on today's online version of The Daily Telegraph, about the thought-provoking views on the challenges facing the British economy, expressed recently by British Prime David Cameron, in a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), together with the views of a number of his cabinet colleagues, as well as politicians from China and elsewhere, makes interesting reading, indeed.
The candour of David Cameron and his cabinet colleagues, about the challenges facing Britain's economy, is in stark contrast to the Soviet-era attitudes exhibited by so many Ghanaian politicians - when it comes to matters to do with the performance of the Ghanaian economy: and the country's future economic prospects.
To listen to Ghana's mostly-cynical politicians (from across the spectrum) one would think that the outlook for both the Ghanaian and the global economies was anything other than rosy.
Their stock-in-trade, as they participate in current affairs programmes on our nation's airwaves - hopping from one radio station to another, and from one television station to the other - is to deliberately raise expectations amongst ordinary Ghanaians, by painting a picture of the rosy tomorrow that Ghanaians can expect, should their party win the December 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections.
It makes one actually wonder whether they ever factor in the impact of financial crises occurring in the world beyond Ghana's borders - such as the current eurozone debt crisis. Yet, Ghana is not an island of itself, free from the influence of other nations.
What happens to the global economy has an impact on our nation's economy too, does it not, dear reader?
That is why one feels so sad, when listening to clever politicians like the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) Samuel Awuku and the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) Hanna Bissiw on radio and television current affairs programmes.
These are well-educated and highly intelligent individuals - each of whom knows exactly what the global economic outlook is: gloomy.
They both also know that it will take at least a decade of sustained GDP growth of at least between 6 and 8 percent per annum, for the life of the average Ghanaian to be transformed.
Yet, they pretend, when debating others openly, that paradise will materialise - in the case of the cynical Samuel Awukus of this world - should the NPP be returned to power again; or has apparently already materialised - according to the Hanna Bissiws of this world: despite facts-on-the-ground evidence to the contrary.
They must learn from the example of politicians from elsewhere - and be a tad more truthful about Ghana's difficulties: economic, social, etc.
The Samuel Awukus of the NPP, for example, know perfectly well that virtually all the difficulties ordinary Ghanaians are experiencing today, have their roots in the profligacy of the NPP regime of Kufuor & Co. - yet they pretend otherwise.
The Hanna Bissiws of the NDC also know perfectly well that Ghanaians would breathe a lot easier, were President Mills and all his appointees (as well as their spouses), to publicly publish their assets - and promised to do so again at the end of their tenure: to set an example in good governance in an oil-producing African nation, for the rest of the continent.
Perhaps they can begin that journey to being more truthful about Ghana's prospects, by reading David Cameron's candid views about Britain's prospects, which I have culled from today's edition of the online version of the Daily Telegraph, and posted below. Please read on:
"David Cameron: our plan to cut debt is failing
David Cameron and his senior ministers have admitted for the first time that there is a danger they will not be able to tackle borrowing on time.
By James Kirkup, and Robert Winnett
10:00PM GMT 21 Nov 2011

The warning comes as the global economy stands on the brink of a “chronic” debt-driven recession.
The Prime Minister on Monday conceded that tackling Britain’s debts was “proving harder than anyone envisaged”, raising the prospect that the Coalition would be unable to close the deficit by 2014-15.
That would rule out any significant tax cuts before the next election. It also raises questions about the Coalition’s fundamental purpose.
Departing from the deficit-reduction timetable could raise fears that Britain will face rising borrowing costs as bond markets take fright.
Debt is “a drag on growth”, Mr Cameron told business leaders. “We are well behind where we need to be,” he said.
Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary, has warned that the global economy is “in a devil of a mess”, which is “bound to have an effect” on the Coalition’s plans to clear most of the deficit before the next election.
The candid remarks pave the way for George Osborne, the Chancellor, to admit next week that his target will be missed and the structural deficit will not be erased until at least 2015-16.
In his autumn statement next week, Mr Osborne will cut his forecasts for economic growth this year and next, blaming the eurozone crisis and the darkening global outlook.
In the latest escalation of the global economic crisis, shares tumbled on Monday as market fears spread from the eurozone to America’s $15 trillion (£9.6 trillion) government debt.
The FTSE 100 index fell nearly 3 per cent. Other exchanges recorded even bigger falls as investors became worried that Western economies would be dragged back into recession by the weight of their debts.
Almost every Western government is struggling with its debts.
In Washington, a cross-party committee supposed to devise plans to curb the government’s debt was close to collapsing.
Adding to the markets’ fears, Wang Qishan, the Chinese vice-premier, said global economic conditions remained “grim”. He warned of a prolonged downturn. “The one thing that we can be certain of, among all the uncertainties, is that the global economic recession caused by the international financial crisis will be chronic,” Mr Wang said.
Slower growth means the Government receives less money in tax and has to spend more on items such as social security.
That makes it harder to close the deficit, the gap between what the Government raises and what it spends.
Official figures due on Tuesday are expected to show the Government is roughly on track to hit its target of borrowing £122 billion in the current financial year. But with growth now expected to be much weaker than forecast, borrowing targets for future years are in doubt.
Mr Cameron told the Confederation of British Industry that the Coalition was struggling with public finances.
“Getting debt under control is proving harder than anyone envisaged,” he said. “High levels of public and private debt are proving to be a drag on growth, which in turn makes it more difficult to deal with those debts.”
Mr Cameron insisted that he would not deviate from the plan to cut spending, insisting that slowing growth “undermines further the case for adding to the national burden of debt with even more borrowing”.
To reassure financial markets about the Coalition’s determination to balance the budget, Mr Osborne could next week signal plans for new cuts after the current spending round ends in 2015.
The Chancellor may also argue that he has not broken his own fiscal rules.
Mr Osborne last year set himself a “fiscal mandate” to eliminate the structural deficit — the part that does not vary with economic growth — by 2014-15. He gave himself considerable flexibility within that goal.
First, he said the deficit only needed to be cleared by 2015-16, but he had voluntarily chosen a target a year earlier.
Second, he said the goal was based on a five-year “rolling” target, meaning that he only has to show that the deficit will be cleared five years from now.
Despite that flexibility, Mr Osborne has less room for manoeuvre on the second part of his “mandate”. He has promised total government debts will be falling as a share of GDP by 2015-16.
Missing that goal would be a serious political blow to the Coalition.
The assessment of progress on the deficit target is made by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.
Ministers are now resigned to the office telling Parliament that the structural deficit will not be closed in 2014-15 and possibly not in 2015-16 either.
Some City analysts predict that the Chancellor will not eliminate the structural budget deficit until 2017-18.
Independent economists expect the office to cut its growth forecast for this year from 1.7 per cent to about 1 per cent. Next year’s forecast is likely to fall from 2.5 per cent to about 1.2 per cent.
Mr Clarke, a former Chancellor, became the first minister to admit that Mr Osborne could miss the 2014-15 target.
“You can’t ignore the fact that we are trying to get ourselves out of trouble in the middle of a global economy that is still in a devil of a mess,” he said. “That is bound to have an effect on what actually happens.”
Asked if Mr Osborne would miss his target, Mr Clarke said it was possible.
“I don’t know if he’s going to have to do that, but if he did it would be because of events quite outside our control,” he said.
His gloomy tone was echoed by Mohamed el-Erian, head of PIMCO, the world’s biggest bond investment fund.
“The sense of uncertainty prevailing in the West is palpable, and rightly so,” he said. “People are worried about their futures. Unfortunately, things will become more unsettling in the months ahead."
End of culled news report from The Daily Telegraph.
Well there it is, dear reader. To begin with, what strikes one above all, after reading that Telegraph news report, is how well the Mills administration in Ghana, which also inherited a huge deficit from its profligate predecessors, has done, thus far.
Secondly, as a wag said to me recently: "Kofi, nation-building is a difficult and slow process - and much like the George Bush Highway from Achimota to the interchange at Mallam junction, both now under construction, we will experience a great deal of inconvenience whiles the construction takes place.
However, once completed, Ghanaian road users who will be lucky to use it, will all experience the free-flow of traffic they hope the new highway and interchange will make possible.
The transformation of our country will be along similar lines, he believes - difficult for those ordinary people now having to make endless sacrifices whiles it goes on slowly: but beneficial to all once completed.
However, we must all be clear about one point - it will take at least a decade for it to happen: so there should not be any great expectations on anyone's part, in the interim.
Above all, it is time Ghanaian politicians dropped their Soviet-style attitudes - and started being more open and frank about the difficulties that face our nation. To continue in that head-in-the-sand fashion, at this juncture of our nation's history, is a great disservice to the ordinary people of Nkrumah's Ghana. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
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