Part 4
The failure of African entreneuralship and Voodoo economics
What is voodoo economics? This is the Supply-side economics that focuses on increasing the supply of goods and services. According to some economists, by increasing supply, you will increase demand. This may seem contradictory, but it is often true that a market flooded with products will induce lower prices for the consumers, as companies compete for business. Voodoo economics largely revolved around the lowering of taxes to encourage a higher rate of supply”
So did Sarpong know what he was talking about when he wrote under “Rawlings Sanctimony and historic Voodoo Economics”.? I do not think so . Apart from insults , the essay had nothing to do with economics. If GhC 10000 was equal to $1.00 all one had to do was to print money in large denominations of Ghc10000 and even 1m GhC . People then did not need to carry large amounts of money . But that is the failure of NPP and its so called intelligentsia . Voodoo economics and its history has more to do with the followers of NPP and its thought leader Ronald Reagan and his “trickle down” economics which NPP ascribes to but fails to practice Cut down taxes, pay workers cheaply or slave wages so there will be abundance of supply . I have written about the failure of the African entrepreneur so far and their lack of fore sight . NPP has been in the fore front of this failure and they will do everything to change the course of the narrative especially after what Prof karikari has said “ NPP is asleep” Is it not a shame that the NPP goes around shouting how educated they are and how wealthy they are but fail to follow up with the investments. They fight for political power so they can sit on Boards and get directorships on institutions started by Kwame Nkrumah “ the communist dictator” Is it not an irony ? But point it out and they will jump on you like hungry blood hounds shouting all the invectives they can muster. Just take a look. Have they filled the void of Black Start line, Ghana Airways, Valco and the energy needs of the country? They shout dum sor dum sor but how many watts of energy have they generated?
Let me quote excerpts from the launching of Nkrumahs 7 year development plan ‘Ghana starts the Seven-year Development Plan period with an economy which is mainly agricultural. Six out of every ten working Ghanaians are employed in agriculture and it is estimated that more than half of the national income of Ghana is produced by agriculture” Note this was in 1960 and shows the quality of people we had that the NPP loves to disparage .
PROPORTION OF WORKING POPULATION ENGAGED IN AGRICULTURE, 1960
Country % Per capital income
£
India 70 25
GHANA 62 70
Japan 39 121
Denmark 23 370
U.S.A. 12 801
U.K 5 384
From the table we can see that the pattern seems to be; the richer the country, the smaller the proportion of the working population engaged in agriculture. Why is this, and how is it possible? The reason is that by raising the productivity of agriculture – using better methods, seeds and equipment – a much higher output has been achieved, using less labour, and thus releasing people to go to other forms of work.
Nkrumah goes on with the following
“It is in these other forms of work, particularly, particularly in manufacturing industry, that the faster rates of growth have been achieved, in countries throughout the world. This is why a country such as ours, which aims to develop economically as quickly as possible, must increase the size of the industrial sector of its economy. In broad terms then, during the next seven years, Ghana must expand her agricultural output and at the same time build a growing industrial sector. This modern industrial development will provide the basis for the expansion of national income needed to pay for the high standard of social services to which the government has committed itself. In order to run a modernized agriculture and a large number of new industries we need above all a skilled labour force and efficient managements” So clearly Nkrumah and his advisors had identified as far back as 1960 the essential ingredients of development . In this direction of 1 New industries, 2 Skilled labor force 3 Efficient management .So he went about SOLVING Ghana’s problems .
Of total imports in 1962, 42 percent was in the form of food, drink, tobacco, textiles, clothing and other consumption goods. Currently we import rice and meat to the tune of $1bn . Do we need to with 60% of the population engaged in agriculture?
1 A lot has been written about the efforts made in those early years to rev up local production and so decrease the imports . Cotton for textiles , poultry and cattle for meat and hides for shoes, sugar cane for sugar and alcohol and animal feed , tomatoes and Pawlugwu go hand in hand , coconut for oil and building materials , red bricks for housing, Valco for Aluminum that will be used for roofing sheets , windows and doors ,not to forget the commercial farms and the tractors brought in to make agriculture more productive . I can mention many more . Ghanaians will remember that the response from the NPP opposition was to throw bombs at school children , the major one being the Kulungugu bomb .Remember they call themselves “ democrats” . Then when they took over closed all these. Can we see the genesis of our problems . Then they stand on a moral high ground commemorating the death of 3 judges but hiding all the murders they have committed under ma te me ho since 1951 through to killing Mobilla and the Ya Na & 40 advisors
2 skilled labor This is what he says “ The success of the Seven-year Plan is finally dependent upon the abilities and the honest hard work of the people who are charged with the responsibility of carrying out the activities required by the Plan. The most perfect plan in the world would fail if personnel with the education, training and experience required to fill the new jobs were not available in sufficient quantity”. So schools were set up that included technical, vocational, and University and incentives given to teacher trainees . In it also was the emphasis on science education where he says people should think in scientific terms . Meanwhile apart from Workers College he started Workers Brigade that was supplying boots and clothing to the security forces and producing other things . Then GNCC or Ghana National Construction company was in charge of construction works giving skills to artisans and engineers of all sorts . What did the NPP do? Close them down under structural adjustment and replace them with foreign companies to do the construction work . 2007 we borrowed $750m only to use it to import items from China for Ghana@50 celebrations . It has to be paid in foreign money and we hail Dr Bawumia for his brilliance?. Allotey Jacobs, why should you eat humble pie after Dr Botchways endorsement . What SOLUTIONS have they proffered? Any one can complain and list problems. My friend, Francis , a technical school graduate said why do the Local councils not become production centers . JJ the O level drop out mooted that idea many years ago. The first elections were local council elections . In accounting they become “ profit centers”
3 Efficient management . “ Everything rises and falls on leadership” . Nkrumah started GIMPA. Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration. Management is defined as “ getting things done through people” . But alas by the time these people were ready the industries had been closed . All the good work and meticulous planning was replaced by arrogant “ know alls”, who have substituted strategic ,.medium or tactical planning with ad hoc or “ fire fighting”
Why have Ghanaians abandoned the 7 year development plan and the vision 2020 presented to parliament in1995?
In the vision 2020 presented to Parliament by the then President Rawlings ,two extremely important facts: were recognized
1. The only means by which the country's resources can be used efficiently to achieve rapid economic growth while maintaining the integrity of the environment hinges on the integration of Science and Technology in the various programmes.
2. Decentralization of Ghana's public administration system to the district level will make it possible for Districts to take responsibility for their development programmes and resources in line with the Vision 2020 programme
In China, economic reforms which began in the late 1970's under Deng Xiaoping focused on opening up China to the outside world and stressed the development of science and technology.
In 1986, China launched the "863" Program, which concentrated on seven key areas consisting of:
1. Biotechnology,
2. Information technology,
3. Space technology,
4. Laser technology,
5. Automation technology,
6. Energy technology and
7. Advanced materials technology.
The "863" Program was also responsible for monitoring emerging foreign technologies with widespread interest in commercializing high technologies and its utilization for education and within the labor force. Where is China now? A country with the second highest GDP in the world . Our neighbor Mali with Bamako applying planning has outstripped Accra in terms of planning and Bukina Faso has better agricultural out put than Ghana has. Ghana does not have to adopt the seven but can adopt Biotechnology, information technology, energy technology, and advanced materials technology .
My disappointment with Drs Botchway and Bawumia happened to be they offered NO SOLUTIONS . That will have separated them from the Wontumis and Carbos . Now we have Wontumi who will organize a march . Surely this is the rainy season and would it not have been better to follow the footsteps of Acheampong and Rawlings when they mobilized the youth for food production? “ Operation feed yourself “ . But with Wontumi, I am not surprised as Busia organized a march to chase away hunger passing by the ploughs that his government had abandoned at the road side .The lack of co operation from especially the NPP on the grounds of corruption to me is amazing. Not that it comes as a surprise as they have never co operated with any government except their own . From 1951 have they not done everything possible to disrupt the activities of any other government and undermine it? I lived through the Nkrumah regime and the efforts that were put in to destabilize it . False rumors, violence and economic sabotage . Did Dr Hilla Linman not experience the same treatment followed by Fl Lt Rawlings? What was the venom poured out on Prof Mills until his death? That is the ma te me ho idea of democracy. What is their moral standing as they stand on a moral high ground. Who did not lose a plot to the NPP looting brigade? Who bought the International House belonging to foreign affairs at a cheap price?. Who even removed the blinds from the government bungalow he occupied? Who borrowed money from hair salons . Who incurred judgment debts .Did Jake not buy his house at a discount? Who turned Ghana into cocaine coast and a haven for armed robbers? How many industries did all the efforts of Kufour yield ? We have a deficit in housing of 2m units and still rising . Busia is said to have instituted Rural development , but that was Rural “assassination” . Rural areas depend on agriculture and he sent away the farm labor . Tema and Accra are full of migrants from the rural areas, townships they called “ White Elephants” . By 1983 there were 1m Ghanaians in Nigeria alone . So when was Ghana a paradise ?
We need to go back to the things that work . Dr Amoako has spelled them out DEPTH : diversify Let us go to the localities and plan and produce . That way we use local produce and curtail imports Mangoes, bananas, guava, pineapples, cattle ,poultry , tilapia , tourism, cotton ,rice while reviving the Industries left idle . That will involve mobilization of capital . That is what Dr Bawumia and Boacthay should have told us .They should have identified areas that can be immediately developed leading to medium term recovery. These will lead to exports . The more we export the more we earn closing the deficit gap and strengthening the Cedi . That will bring stability .
We complain about the cost of locally produced goods. Through higher productivity the cost should go down. That is what labor must know . Collecting pay for no work done or stealing parts from the work or produce raise the cost of production That way Ghana goods can be cheaper and more competitive
Technology We need to use technology instead of us suing manpower. For too long we have been stuck using cutlasses and hoes to even produce food. How much can we produce and how much energy do we have left walking 3 miles to the farm . Then comes the heat and all our energy gets dissipated and we complain about each other
Human resources . naturally the more skilled the better will be the productivity . That will make us more competitive . let us introduce work study and organizational methods that will improve our competiveness
Why does the NPP and its members run away from such issues . NPP come up with your stand on GMOs EPA and how African enterprise can work . Stop making noise and being a distraction
Forward ever , backward never . Long live people like the “ odikro “
The writer Kojo Tamakloe is a Pan Africanist who believes that it is through African Unity that Africa can solve its under development
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