Politicization/Corruption of "Entrepreneurship" in Ghana

In the Federalist Papers Alexander Hamilton wrote, "It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of [Ghana}, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether [Ghanaians] are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on [greediness, selfishness, banditry, and stupidity]." For the past 56 years, we have as a nation refused to rely on our own powers of reason and judgement, i.e., the freedom of the human mind to determine the goals of our society and what's best best for us.

In view of the "corruption" in the operations at the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA), isn't it an open secret that high profile entrepreneurs team up with government officials (mostly their former classmates and/or closed linked tribesmen and political sponsors) to rape Ghana daily? Isn’t it yet another open secret that Ghanaian politicians hold private business under pseudonyms in order to, contrary to our constitution, offer themselves lucrative State contracts? The whole practice of State doing business with private individuals have always amounted to massive transfers of wealth and welfare in favour of high profile government officials and the so called entrepreneurs. How much Better Ghana Management Limited is truly retaining out of the 80% managerial cost, we will never know. How much of this flows back to government officials, bribery cover-ups, party sponsorships, patronization and so on, interested Ghanaians may never know. But isn't this business in Ghana as usual? If it comes out that some government officials-- past and present-- are involved in this unpatriotic barbaric dehumanizing practice and loss of revenue to the State, would anyone's political career be in jeopardy? Of course, not! Time will eventually erase this disastrous story from the memories of Ghanaian electorates when they are given the illusional privilege once again to choose who's best fit to lead them to another chapter of Better Ghana. Lamenting about the lack of a universal improved business condition for all interested Ghanaians, I shared the following quote from the article "What are the Drivers of Change in Ghana" (Tony Killick et al. 2005) on Facebook two months ago:

"All regimes since Nkrumah, civil and military, have attracted an opportunistic business class seeking advantage by access to state favours of a more or less discriminatory sort. One effect of this type of state-business relationship is that neither party to the relationship applies rigorous performance standards to the other, except perhaps in a crisis...Assessments of Ghana’s economic-growth performance depend a great deal on the time perspective adopted. A particularly sobering way of viewing the growth record is to look at the whole post Independence period. Recent research suggests that by 2000 real per capita GDP had only just recovered to the level achieved in 1960. That is, the average Ghanaian was no better off in 2000 than four decades earlier...Many of these issues have to do with chronic failures on the part of the public service... Complaints continue [...] about the politicization of private business. This phrase refers to the fact that some Ghanaian businesses have become associated with either the NDC or NPP and that, when in office, each party favours its allies and discriminates against those of its opponents. In other words, the pattern of government-business relations remains very much in the patron-client mould. Both organized business associations, such as the Association of Ghana Industries, and individual entrepreneurs generally prefer to cultivate politicians with a view to protection or other special treatment, and not to exercise pressure for better general conditions for investment."

So until the structures of how business and governance are conducted in Ghana are altered, our Motherland as a whole will remain impoverished. And to the faithful journalist, I pray that the Lord grant him the strength, wisdom, knowledge and heart to always serve Ghana. Ghana has become like a chronic unfaithful wife/husband, who deserves to perish but one’s love and commitment keep her/him going somehow instead of giving her up for good. The good journalist is definitely going to need some extra human strength if he’s not going to end up giving up on Ghana, especially when the majority of Ghanaians refuses to recognize his efforts. God “bless” Ghana!

Dominic Mensah