Call for radical change in governance

THE Chief Executive Officer of Ashanti Goldfields Company, Dr Sam Jonah, has called for a radical change in the style of governance in Africa if the continent is to keep pace with global trends in development.

He said unless African leaders undertake a fundamental review of their policies and style of leadership, the situation on the continent would worsen.

“First, we must take charge of our own destiny, tell our story and market ourselves,” Dr Jonah observed at the annual lecture of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) in Accra on Tuesday.

“For far too long, Africans have allowed others to mistell their story and have failed to market their countries,” he stressed.

Dr Jonah charged members of the IPR to assist the government to promote the ideals of good governance and educate people on the policies of the government.

He, therefore, urged African leaders to refrain from activities that may paint a gloomy picture of the continent.

Dr Jonah said the objective of any government should be the provision of better quality of life for the citizenry.

“This should be seen in better education, healthcare, shelter and other social facilities,” he observed, and added “Citizens do not only aspire to the good things of life, but expect to have a say in the way they are governed”.

He said governments which are not responsive to the wishes of the citizenry and show no sense of accountability, will not last.

He said given the history of governance in Africa “it is not a surprise that we have been plagued by all the problems envisaged”.

“We have been singularly unsuccessful in our economic management” and said 20 years of economic restructuring in Ghana has brought no joy to the ordinary Ghanaian.

Dr Jonah said “we can continue to be in denial and claim that we have made considerable progress, but I do not believe that the progress made is commensurate with the resources that have been applied and the sacrifices which have been made”.

He said he has not seen any statistics which seriously invalidate this view.

He recalled the national debt per capita in 1980, which, he said, stood at ?1,068 and has risen to ?2.7 million, and has become a burden on the national debt that each Ghanaian is now carrying.

Dr Jonah stated that the nation’s economy is not growing at the required rate to even cope with the demands of a rising population, let alone generate surplus for the retirement of the national debt.

He said “our savings rate is incredibly low, life expectancy low, infant mortality high and corruption endemic”.

“The rule of law, respect for human rights, respect for property rights, among others, are plainly endangered concepts,” he said.

The gold industry capo noted that “if there is law and no respect for property rights, their environment will not be conducive to investors because they will feel insecure”.

He recalled that on the eve of the African-American Summit in 1999 which was supposed to showcase Ghana as the investment destination of choice, a 68-room fully-furnished hotel was destroyed in broad daylight.

He said apparently, the organisers of the conference had even booked the hotel for use by some participants.

Dr Jonah said “the viciousness and callousness that attended the destruction are unprecedented in Ghana”.

He was of the opinion that with the advent of the Internet and the liberalisation of the airwaves in Ghana, the event was transmitted instantly world-wide.

“The question is not whether the owner had a permit to build. What should be of concern to all is whether the full legal process had been exhausted before the demolition”.

He observed, rather sarcastically, that “legalities aside, the savagery of the demolition, soldiers in battle fatigues with AK 47 assault rifles primed for action and the Air Force providing air support, the area entirely cordoned off, we could not have presented a better, friendlier, welcoming and a more conducive environment to investors”.

He said the post-event public relations damage control made matters even worse and created the impression that investors are “stupid” and that the government can direct its investment promotion efforts at the external markets to the exclusion of the local markets.

Dr Jonah said it is estimated that as much as 40 per cent of Africa’s gross domestic product is held by Africans in oversees accounts and assets.

“What is strikingly interesting is that the holders of such wealth do not find their own countries attractive for their assets” and added that to potential investors outside “if Africans cannot excite their own people to invest, how can they expect to excite other people from outside”.

He said investors to any country take, as their reference point, how the local investors are being treated, “after all if citizenship cannot confer protection, then how on earth do we expect the foreign investor to feel safe.

He added that investors do not like “uncertainties especially when they are already coming into a region which they perceive to have serious defects in vital areas such as rule of law and respect for property rights.

He said Ghanaians are more discerning than at any time in history and noted that the challenge for government in dealing with this new situation is to have a comprehensive communications strategy.

He said this is best if it is a proactive, consistently credible and sensitive to public opinion and deliberately structured to provide a two-way communications between government and its various publics.

“In this regard, your special public relations role in the formulation and implementation of this strategy is pivotal” he charged members of the IPR.

Dr. Jonah in reference to September 11 horrific incidence in the United States of America said some commentators have observed that the African continent is going to have its economies affected adding that, “there is the danger that the continent would be even marginalised than it has been.”

“Aid funds will flow to Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries to rebuild their economies and this could be at the expense of Africa” he added.

He said it is estimated that about $350 billion will be needed to repair the effects of the September 11 attacks and predicted that the funds will come from the same source to which African countries look up for investment and assistance.