Ama Ghana on a begging spree; how did she stray?

On March 6, 1957 Ghana emerged as the first country south of the Sahara to gain independence from British colonial rule. So? She is sixty-six years old. The metaphorical gender assigned to Ghana at independence was 'she'. This is why she is called Ama Ghana, unlike Uncle Sam and John Bull of the US and UK respectively. At independence, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah baptized Ghana with an eternal, futuristic statement, “the Blackman is capable of managing his own affairs” affirming his belief in the ingenuity of his people.

Luckily for us we have a latter-day saint Nana Akufo Addo who believes that we can somehow be on our own and also reiterates “Ghana Beyond Aid”. A soothing mantra or a trite sloganeering?

Ghana has what it takes both human and material resources to develop but we are far behind our peers. Our predicament resonates well with the words of the Prodigal Son, “my father’s house abounds in bread and I am starving here”. We have all the mineral resources buried in the belly of the earth gold, manganese, bauxite, titanium etc. Yet it is quite ironic to know that a country which is second only to La Cote D’Ivoire in the production of cocoa in the entire world cannot transform its economy with it.

Then again, we discovered oil and called it black gold. It promised to be a panacea of the country’s economic woes. Did it? In the abundance of all these treasures that Ghana is endowed with we go begging for economic assistance from countries which do not have half of our wealth. Whodunit?

One then wonders what it means to be independent. Independence from what? Ghana along with Singapore and Malaysia gained independence around about the same period. These three countries shared similar economic characteristics at the time of independence, hence a level playing ground was offered to them all to chart their own economic destinies. The only resource Singapore has is its human resource and a small landmass in the vicinity of 719km2 (278mi2).

Nonetheless, what we do know about Singapore today is that it has experienced remarkable economic growth and diversification since 1960. Singapore has the largest port in Southeast Asia and one of the busiest in the world. In addition to enhancing its position as a world trade centre, it has developed powerful financial and industrial sectors. Singapore has the most advanced economy in Southeast Asia and is often mentioned along with other rapidly industrializing countries in Asia, notably South Korea and Taiwan.

To us Ghanaians, it is common knowledge that Malaysia came under Ghana’s tutelage in the area of palm plantation farming. Can’t I safely then say we had something that Malaysia did not have and that could have offered us a comparative advantage? Despite being our onetime pupil in the area of agriculture, Malaysia's economy has been transformed since 1970 from one based primarily on the export of raw materials (rubber and tin) to one that is among the strongest, most diversified, and fastest-growing in Southeast Asia.

Primary production remains important. The country is a major producer of rubber and palm oil, exports considerable quantities of petroleum and natural gas, and is one of the world's largest sources of commercial hardwoods. Increasingly, however, Malaysia has emphasized export-oriented manufacturing to fuel its economic growth.

Using the comparative advantages of a relatively inexpensive but educated labour force, well-developed infrastructure, political stability, and an undervalued currency, Malaysia has attracted considerable foreign investment, especially from Japan and Taiwan.

As we tout the economic growth of these two countries, clearly we see where Ghana belongs. She trails behind. Going begging to transform our economy has been our forte. We have frequented the door steps of the IMF seventeen times. We go and they tell us how we should govern ourselves. Something that is an antithesis of Nkrumah’s famous words “the Blackman is capable of managing his own affairs”. Has Aid really aided Ghana? Dambisa Felicia Moyo, a proud daughter of Africa, authored the book Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa (2009).

It is a must-read for all aid-dependent African countries, Ghana being the prefect. A copy of that book at the Seat of Government would have offered an apocalyptic insight into our going to the IMF for the seventeenth time for a bailout and perhaps guided us to rescind our decision and looked within us for solutions. The book, whose main title conjures up almost immediately the negative connotations of Aid, argues that the large amounts of money donated by Western states and organizations such as the World Bank have effectively perpetuated poverty in Africa.

Such foreign aid, instead of being invested in economically viable job-creating activities, has lined the pockets of corrupt administrators and created a habit of dependency in the African client states. It is haunting to conceive that our dependency on foreign aid is cyclical and never-ending. Poverty perpetually beckons.

Leaders after Nkrumah have made nonsense of his famous quotation. Economic mismanagement, bribery and corruption, nepotism, red-tapeism, and cronyism have run aground the wheels of the nation’s development which Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah set in motion. As our economic woes deepen, Ghanaians are exploring the cause of our problems.

There are two schools of thought on the root cause of Ghana’s economic woes. Others think that our current predicament is the result of neo-colonialism—the use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former dependencies. This results in a kind of subservience to Western countries where they use subtlety to plunder our wealth and stash them in their countries under the aegis of clueless government officials.

Others are of the view that the problems are self-inflicted and that although we are poor, we tend to live large. Our various governments travel with a large retinue of government officials in ultra-luxury airplanes and lodge in expensive hotels when they travel abroad. As we make foreign travels our pastime, others are instituting austerity measures to control them. On 15th June, 2022, Malawi’s president cancelled two foreign trips in order to religiously adhere to austerity measures he had announced due to economic problems.

It was a move to save government around $261,000 (equiv. K260m). The decision was not an obligation but was taken by the President of his own accord.

We have a bigger size of government than those from whom we seek financial help. In our recent begging spree, German Ambassador to Ghana, Daniel Krull, advised the Akufo-Addo-led administration to cut its expenditure if it sincerely needs Germany to help convince China and the International community to agree to a debt relief package. Ghana has been begging Germany in the last month to convince China to commit to a creditors meeting to agree to a debt relief package for the country. It is strange for Ghana to be crying for help but continues to operate a government bigger than that of Germany and China.

But do we need a European to cross the Mediterranean tell us this? When well-meaning Ghanaians, both home and abroad, have consistently and persistently bemoaned the elephant-size of government?

I have almost stopped blaming the President, for the most part, for some of his poor decisions whose outcomes have had dire consequences on all Ghanaians. I place a part of the blame squarely on the Council of State, a so-called body of prominent citizens, analogous to the Council of Elders in the traditional political system, which advises the president on national issues.

Its mandate is enshrined in Chapter 9 of the 1992 Constitution Article 89 (1) “There shall be a Council of State to counsel the President in the performance of his functions”. The constitution specifically enjoins the Council of State to “Consider and advise the President or any other authority in respect of any appointment which is required by the constitution or any other law to be made in accordance with the advice of, or in consultation with, the Council of State”.

There is an African proverb which says there are no bad leaders but bad advisors. Since in Africa proverbs are the palm wine with which words are eaten, I strongly believe in the spirit and letter of this very proverb. The Council of State has failed in its mandate as an advisory body, and that is why we are almost running aground economically. If it cannot advise the president, it must share in the blame or out rightly be obsolesced.

On Monday 6th March, 2023, Ghana will be 66 since we gained independence. Is the independence day celebration worth celebrating with the usual pomp and ceremony that usually characterizes it? At least, Her Ladyship Justice Sophia Akuffo proffers an answer—do no waste our scarce resources on independence day celebrations. The amount of money and resources spent on the celebration at the national and regional levels could be injected into other areas of our economy which need urgent attention—education, health, agriculture, transportation and security. We could build a CHPS compound or renovate a dilapidated structure of a school in every district in memory of the day we forwent our darling independence day celebration for a worthy cause.

The former Chief Justice’s call accords well with a move by late Tanzania’s President, John Magafuli. In 2015 the then newly-elected President John Magafuli, reputed to be a no-nonsense, result driven politician, cancelled independence day celebrations, and ordered a clean-up campaign instead. In his own words he said it would be 'shameful' to spend huge sums of money on celebrations when 'our people are dying of cholera' state media reported.

It was the first time in 54 years Tanzania would not hold celebrations to mark independence from the UK. The move showed commitment to ending lavish spending and tackling the cholera outbreak which had caused widespread concerns. Magafuli’s government’s vision for canceling the celebration was to save money that would be spent on hospitals and the fight against cholera. I would love to the hear President Akufo-Addo say it is insensitive to spend huge sums of money on celebrations when our people are experiencing serious economic challenges.

This is not to say that such celebrations are immaterial. It is the pomp and pageantry that usually expend money and resources which ought to be discouraged, at least for the time being, at this time of grievous economic hardships. Of course there are good reasons for occasions like these to be celebrated.

Ghana has a significant history. She is an example of democratic success and stability. The celebration reminds us of the courage of the people of Ghana who through their blood and toil won our heritage for us. Sacredness and solemnity should be the aura of the moment, not extravagance and flamboyance. God bless our homeland Ghana, And make our nation great and strong.