Ghana must shift from exporting raw materials to value addition – Charles Abugre

The Executive Di­rector of Interna­tional Development Economics Asso­ciates (IDEAs), a non-governmental organisation, Charles Abugre, has called for a paradigm shift in the management and extraction of the country’s natural resources.

He said Ghana should shift from exporting its natural resources in their raw form and focus on val­ue-addition to attract more revenue for the country.

Speaking at the public lecture in Accra on Wednesday he said the government must address the issue of dependency on foreign nations for its sustenance if it really desired to assert the country’s sovereignty.

The lecture organised by Third World Network-Africa, a non-gov­ernmental organisation, to mark its 30th anniversary dubbed ‘Thirty Years of Advocacy’ was chaired by former Secretary General of the Ghana TUC and ITUC-Africa, Mr Kwasi Adu-Amankwah.

Mr Abugre who was a discussant said rather than being reactive, there was still room to become proactive in the way in which the country managed its commodities.

The Executive Director of IDEAs said all was not lost and the country had the opportunity to make a lot from its lithium re­sources through the development of agreements that will benefit the country.

He stressed the need for the country to rely on its abundant land resources to enhance food production to assert its sover­eignty.

“So if you look at the import bill, we now exceed over a billion dollars in the importation of food to feed ourselves in this country. That is not only a sovereignty and security question, it is really an economic suicide to have land resources, poison them, refuse to invest in feeding ourselves and depend increasingly on the import market,” Mr Abugre, stated.