Look at where Korea is now, where Malaysia is now and where Ghana is now – Alan Kyerematen laments

Former presidential candidate, Alan Kyerematen has challenged Ghana to measure its development against countries such as South Korea and Malaysia, arguing that the country should be aiming much higher after decades of independence.

Kyerematen said Ghana’s development standards should not be based mainly on comparisons with other African countries, insisting that the country has the potential to achieve far more.

He pointed to the economic position of South Korea and Malaysia in the 1960s, when he said their per capita income levels were comparable to Ghana’s.

He questioned why the three countries had followed such different development paths.

“Look at where Korea is now. Look at where Malaysia is now. And look at where Ghana is now,” he said on Joy Prime.

Kyerematen argued that Ghana should not be satisfied simply because some infrastructure projects have been completed or because certain facilities compare favourably with those in neighbouring countries.

“If we accept our current standards and we are benchmarking ourselves to other countries in West Africa or in Africa, then we are getting it all wrong,” he said.

He said Ghana’s status as one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence should encourage the country to pursue a higher level of transformation.

Kyerematen acknowledged that projects such as the University of Ghana Medical Centre represented progress, but argued that the country’s development needs remained much greater.

He questioned whether the existence of some modern facilities should lead Ghanaians to overlook the challenges still facing the healthcare system.

He also pointed to the unfinished Afari Military Hospital, saying the country must look beyond individual projects and consider the wider scale of its development needs.

“Getting something done is good but it’s not adequate,” he said.

Kyerematen maintained that Ghana needed to assess its progress against where it could have been, rather than simply celebrating what had already been achieved.

“Where should we have been? That is the issue,” he said.