Ghanaians are not in control of resources - Pratt

Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper has expressed dismay that despite the abundant natural resources available in the country, the resources were being controlled by the country’s colonial masters.

He said Ghana could only gained a meager 3.0 percent in the mining industry despite the huge economic potential the industry had for development, stressing that under the rule of Colonel Koto Acheampong, the country controls more than 50 percent of the mining resources.

Mr Pratt who was dissatisfied about the heightened interest the state has on foreign companies with little or no regard for local companies alleged that the Bank of Ghana had recently entered into an agreement with a foreign mining company to repatriate 98.0 percent of its gold mined abroad.

Mr Pratt was addressing students and staff of the Department of Languages and Liberal Studies of the Tamale Polytechnic on Wednesday as part of activities the Department has outlined to train students holistically.

The Department has introduced Media and Mass Communication courses to train students practically to improve their skills in journalism so that they could contribute meaningfully to societal development.

Mr Pratt said the only survival intervention to stop the exploitation of the country’s resources was for journalists to rise up to defend the national interest of the people of Ghana.

He suggested the need for the media to avoid sensationalism and concentrate on issues that would stimulate national debate and development, noting that citizens must see themselves as development agents.

He indicated that unemployment was very high in the country and access to water was a bigger problem, saying: “water is universal right and nobody should be deprived of such an essential commodity in the country, yet the utility companies keep on giving us excuses”.

Mr Dominic Tyson Derry, Head of Department for Languages and Liberal Studies of the Tamale Polytechnic said the department was grateful to have gotten a top-notch journalist to deliver a speech to the students.

He said the seminar was part of the course’s requirement to introduce students to the media industry as an extension of the classroom work saying: “it is also part of the process to market the department”.

Mr Derry appealed to the Polytechnic and other benevolent institutions to partner with the department for mutual benefits.