By Ephraim Oseji

Businessman and social commentator, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has reiterated that a country’s huge foreign reserve is not a total indication of the socio-economic well-being of its citizens.

According to him, true economic growth is seen in the improvement of the living standards of the populace and not in the foreign reserves.

He argued that the people should have surplus and live fine with a small amount, maybe even a few million in foreign reserves, than to have trillions in the foreign reserve and the majority of the populace are hungry with weak institutions, low productivity, poor infrastructure, high unemployment rate and weak human development among others.

The former Delta State gubernatorial aspirant explained that true economic growth is seen in the improvement of the living standards of the populace and not in huge foreign reserves, stressing that it is better for the people to have surplus and live fine with less amount in foreign reserves while the majority of the populace are hungry.

“A country’s foreign reserve growth is not the only basis for rating its socio-economic development. A country’s foreign reserves can be one indicator of economic strength, but they are not the only basis for rating an economy.

“High reserves can show things like the ability to pay for imports, support for the currency during pressure, and confidence in the country’s external finances. However, a country can have large reserves and still face problems if it has weak institutions, low productivity, poor infrastructure, high unemployment, weak human development.

“A country with lower reserves can still make progress if it has strong institutions, productive industries, innovation, good human development, and stable policies. So, foreign reserves are a financial health measure, but true economic progress is measured by a broader picture.

“Socio-economic development should go beyond holding and owning foreign reserves. What to look at is how it is reflected in the lives of people. Foreign reserves are growing,  but the poverty line is growing as well; that is actually not economic growth. True economic growth is seen in the improvement of the living standards of the populace and not in the foreign reserves.

“On a final note, the people should have surplus and live fine with a small amount, maybe even a few millions in foreign reserves for now, than to have trillions in the foreign reserves and the majority of the populace are hungry,” Onuesoke stated.