Former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has called on Ghanaian leaders to redefine development beyond the construction of roads, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure, arguing that the true measure of leadership lies in building a self-reliant population.
According to him, while physical infrastructure remains essential, it does not, on its own, amount to meaningful national development if citizens are not empowered to independently meet their basic needs and drive industrial growth.
Speaking at the 14th Commemorative Anniversary Lecture in honour of the late President John Evans Atta Mills at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on July 22, 2026, Prof Frimpong-Boateng said successive governments have often judged their achievements by the number of infrastructure projects they deliver.
However, he maintained that development should instead be assessed by a nation's ability to empower its people to become economically productive and resilient.
"These are not unimportant, but they are not by themselves development. To me, the true measure of leadership is the extent to which the people can be mobilised to lead independent lives, to feed, shelter, clothe, defend, and heal themselves with their own means, to produce tools, implements, and spare parts they need for daily living and industrial development and growth," he indicated.
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He explained that such a vision would enable Ghana to withstand external shocks and remain functional even when global supply chains are disrupted.
"So that if for one reason or the other, ships and aircraft cannot access our country, we can still be here and survive," he stated.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng stressed that achieving this level of national resilience would require deliberate long-term planning and consistent execution rather than short-term development programmes.
He linked the vision to the late President John Evans Atta Mills' Better Ghana Agenda, saying many people misunderstood its underlying objective.
"This requires long-term planning and execution, as Professor Mills said with his Better Ghana Agenda, which many people did not understand, but I understood it very well because of the conversation I had with him several years before, when he said that I knew exactly what he was trying to arrive at," he noted.
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Leadership must focus on empowerment - Professor Frimpong-Boateng
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