Structure of economy must change -- Woode

No government can transform the economy unless there is a dramatic change of the structure of the economy from agriculture to engineering technology.

"The economy must be technology driven with mass participation as its backbone," Mr Robert Woode, an agriculturist said on Wednesday. He was speaking at a forum by the Convention People's Party (CPP) organised to educate the youth on the visions of Dr Kwame Nkrumah in Accra.

He said: "Anyone who wants to tackle the present economic situation with orthodox methods would fail." Mr Woode said that mass production had worked in many industries in countries like South Korea and Malaysia and that there must be the political will to move this vision across.

Mr Woode said there was the need for self- reliance rather than on external forces. He criticised the slogan that, "government has no business doing business", saying, "You cannot just sit back and say that the private sector is the engine of growth; they will just fail."

Mr Woode suggested that since agriculture is the largest contributor to the country's gross domestic product there was the need to have a comprehensive database for planning. "There is the need to assess these plans and develop new objectives and conditions."

He said Dr Nkrumah set up integrated industries that were relying on each other to produce goods, adding that any business venture established must be able to tap its major raw material from within to make it viable.

Alhaji Abubakar Alhassan, National Chairman of the CPP, said that the party's support for the New Patriotic Party to win the 2000 general elections was not an alliance but an assistance to get rid of a "neighbour" who was an obstacle to the CPP.

"The approach to governance of the CPP and NPP are diametrically opposed. The assistance to the NPP was in order for us to put our house in order."

He assured supporters of the party those preparations for 2004 elections were underway and that they should not see their leaders as a bunch of noise-makers. Alhaji Alhassan emphasised that the CPP leadership would not be detracted in its bid to win power.

Mr Kwame Sanaa-Poku Jantuah, the only surviving member of the first all-black cabinet of the Gold Coast, who chaired the function, called for party unity to move the dream of Nkrumah forward.