CONCLUSION 6.1.8 External Dependency 15. Ghana's CSR stresses that weak internal capacity and heavy reliance on external resources for financing government development expenditure have impelled the Country to accept IMF and World Bank guidance in macroeconomic planning. According to the CSAR, even bilateral donors are ranked above local research institutes, private sector institutions and public sector groups as sources of inputs for policymaking and economic planning. Input from the Bank of Ghana has however been important. This report has pointed out the disadvantages of excessive reliance on external policy analysis: macro-economic stability can be emphasized-trade offs between macro-economic stability and growth are ignored-while certain social priorities are subordinated; perception of weak national ownership which adversely impacts on programme implementation; and the fear that the role of the state is being redefined without consultation with relevant national stakeholders. 16. Some of the above disadvantages can be remedied if international policy and advice are applied by people who understand the important structural (including sociopolitical) realities in the country. During the mission, stakeholders highlighted the issue of the brain drain, which has seen the departure of many highly qualified Ghanaian professionals. Ghanaians though working in international institutions and other areas are familiar with the realities of Ghana. Tapping into this pool of local expertise should yield fruitful results. This should be done carefully so as to avoid underestimating or discriminating against those Ghanaians who did not participate in the brain drain. This latter group have good knowledge of the local community, and some have succeeded in keeping abreast of international developments. More importantly Ghanaians at home know how to work and get things done in a particular socio-political context, given an available stock of cooperative factors and technical inputs. 17. Resource mobilization efforts have also been more successful from external than from domestic sources. External aid enabled the government to restore confidence in the economy especially during the 1980s. Such aid for example increased outlays of infrastructure development and social services, and contributed to poverty alleviation. However, over reliance on external development assistance flows can create monetary shocks and quasi-fiscal deficits of a magnitude overwhelming the government's capacity for macro-economic management. The Panel underscores the desirability of increased mobilisation of domestic resources through for example, increased productivity, promotion of the private sector and improved institutional capacity for tax administration and collection. 143