At a recent meeting with the Ghanaian community in Thailand, Daniel Kwashie Abodakpui, Ghana’s ambassador to Malaysia and some countries in that region called on Ghanaians to go out in the various countries to look for investment opportunities for Ghana. He promised individuals who are able to attract investors to Ghana will receive some percentage from these investments.
He went on to enumerate numerous problems he has been trying to help Ghanaians living in that region to solve. Some of these problems include helping them to acquire passports and other travel documents. After this brief introductory message, the floor was opened for attendees to ask their questions and make their contributions.
On this note, a middle-aged Ghanaian who has been living in that country for 10 years and identified himself as Fred Atsem, posed the question, ‘how do you expect us to bring investors home when electricity and water are not running?’ He continued, ‘no investor would be ready to put his money in high risk environment that do not guarantee profit, especially where other countries hold better comparative advantages in terms of returns on their investments.’
To the amazement of the gathering, when Mr. Abodakpui took his turn to respond to the gentleman, he went ballistic, referring to the man as a nation wrecker who should not even be there at that meeting. He rained abusive words on the man until the man quietly took his sit. From then on, there was tension throughout the rest of the meeting.
It was interesting that Mr. Daniel Kwashie Abodakpui who actually stole from the state and was right sent to jail would be referring to someone as a nation wrecker for simply asking a question. If anybody is a nation wrecker in the law records of Ghana, we all know that the ex-convict Daniel Kwashie Abodakui was one. He stole over US$400, 000 from the state and was rightly jailed for that. Interestingly, it is only in Ghana that ex-cons find their way back into government to steal more.
Abodakpui and the likes should know that it is not for the skyscrapers in Thailand that Ghanaians are scattered in those countries performing unskilled jobs and very unthinkable jobs to survive. It is because political leadership in Ghana has failed to create the enabling environment for people to stay home in Ghana. So when they are on their “honey moon,” dining and wining on the people’s tax, they should know how to speak to us.
If it is the policy of this NDC government to now be asking Ghanaians to go and look for investors, then I am sorry they have missed it. My friend in New York told me that the president, John Evans Atta Mills came to tell them the same thing when he visited New York and they went to listen to him during his town hall. They should understand that a stable economic environment, running water, constant electricity, and corruption-free country will automatically attract investment portfolios. They don’t need to go chasing capital; capital will follow to where there are attractive investment returns.
To conclude, Abodakpui and the likes should know how they talk to us when they meet us.
James Abladey Bangkok, Thailand.
