President J.A Kufuor did not mince words in his maiden inaugural address to the nation when he all Ghanaians living abroad to return home and help build the country.
Kufuor's openness was to encourage Ghanaians with all kinds of skills, and economic wealth to return and contribute to the development of the country.
In pursuing the clarion call for all Ghanaians to return home, the new administration has planned a Homecoming coming summit scheduled for 28-30 May 2001 and organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). It would be held at the Accra International Conference Centre.
The project which has been on the drawing board of the GIPC for sometime now has been revived by the President's plea to Ghanaians exiled to return home. The three-day Homecoming Summit has the theme "Harnessing Global Ghanaian Resource Potential for Accelerated National Development" with the slogan "Motherland Call: Together, We Create the Nation's Wealth".
One of the options in this initiative is the creation and institutionalisation of a platform for continuos dialogue and an opportunity for the Ghanaian Community abroad to interact with their country men in a bid to move the country forward.
Besides, the summit is aimed at renewing the confidence of Ghanaians living abroad in their in their country, and a channel to tap their wealth and knowledge.
Ghanaians living abroad contribute $300 to $400 million annually by way of remittances into the Ghanaian economy and it is believed that they could do even better with a friendly government in office
The Summit is therefore an avenue to acknowledged their invaluable contribution to the ailing economy and urge them to place their professional expertise and business ideas at the disposal of the country.
A Ghanaian based in United States, Dr. Kofi Amoah, of Western Money Union Transfer fame who noted in his presentation at the launch that Ghana stood to benefit tremendously from the estimated one million Ghanaians living abroad if they are encouraged to invest in the country. He explained that 5% of their total income alone could help shape the economy without any strings attached if the initiative could be exploited to the nation's advantage.
Miss Elizabeth Ohene, Minister for Media Relations, who graced the occasion said the country could no longer contend with the situation where hundreds of her people continued to leave the shores in such exodus.
"Just to cite one example, it is indeed sad and an indictment on the country that under 20 percent of the doctor trained by the Ghana Medical School remain in the country after training. The situation is the same in other professional disciplines, if not worse," she lamented.
