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Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Ghana’s economy is 75 percent bigger than previously calculated, the country’s Statistical Service said, slashing the relative size of the fiscal deficit and the current account shortfall.

The West African nation’s gross domestic product this year is 44.8 billion cedis ($31.2 billion), compared with the previous estimate of 25.6 billion cedis, Grace Bediako, head of the Accra-based agency, told reporters today.

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A growing number of sub-Saharan African countries – South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and more recently, Ghana – now require that the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card in a mobile phone be tied to the user’s name.  The main reason: to combat crime.  But I am afraid that with its narrow rationale and focus, this exercise misses the big picture; i.e., a golden opportunity to develop a good database that could become the building blocks for stronger institutions and economic transformation.

Cross-country growth studies show that strong institutions are the surest bet out of this quagmire, a fact that has been echoed several times by Prince Kofi Amoabeng, CEO of UT Bank and arguably, the most-respected CEO in Ghana. When asked in a recent interview on how to reform the institutions, Mr. Amoabeng emphasized the role of information.

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If I were one of the big corporate donors who bankrolled the Republican tide that carried into office more than 50 new Republicans in the House, I would be wary of what you just bought.

For no matter your view of President Obama, he effectively saved capitalism. And for that, he paid a terrible political price.

Suppose you had $100,000 to invest on the day Barack Obama was inaugurated. Why bet on a liberal Democrat? Here’s why: the presidency ofGeorge W. Bush produced the worst stock market decline of any president in history. The net worth of American households collapsed as Bush slipped away. And if you needed a loan to buy a house or stay in business, private sector borrowing was dead when he handed over power.

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There is no way to miss the point of yesterday’s midterm elections. The American people are deeply frustrated with how they are being governed. The political debate is at an all-time partisan low and the public over the last three election cycles are calling for something, almost anything, to change that. They want to see progress on the economy, on job creation, on taxes, and on the federal budget deficit. No matter how voters cast their ballots these are the issues that voters want their representatives in Congress to address. Now.

This overarching voter mandate to “fix it” delivers with it a set of responsibilities to the incoming Republican leadership of the House of Representatives and their strengthened minority counterparts in the Senate as well as to Democratic leaders in the Senate and President Barack Obama and his administration. For the Republicans this means they need to become partners in governing our nation. They can no longer be the “party of no” after yesterday’s vote. Republican leaders must craft serious legislative proposals to match the serious problems our country faces today and in the future.

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