My article here is mainly based on the delay in the adoption of import substitution industrialization strategy in the country. This involves the processing a greater proportion of our gold, cocoa, crude oil and other raw materials locally, exercising the value added chain principle.
Why Ghana has produced cocoa, gold, crude oil and other raw materials all these years and there are still no factories and industries locally to process them to promote the value-added chain in the country.
I can recall CPP’s flag bearer in the election period during the IEA debate emphasized on the improvement of Ghana’s agrarian sector in connection with Industrialization which will solve the economic problem we face as developing countries. The problem associated with neoliberalism which advocates support for economic liberalization, free trade and open markets, privatization, deregulation, and decreasing the size of the public sector while increasing the role of the private sector in modern society, this is suicide for the country. This problem of neoliberalism is hindering the progress of African states as developing countries due to the related problem of world system theory which leaves us in no chance of competing with developed countries.
African states must discourage the World system theory and dependency theory governing the World economies currently. World-system refers to the inter-regional and transnational division of labor, which divides the world into core countries, semi-periphery countries and the periphery countries. Core countries focus on higher skill, capital-intensive production, and the rest of the world focuses on low-skill, labor-intensive production and extraction of raw materials. This constantly reinforces the dominance of the core countries which is very insulting to our independence and sovereignty.
It is so clear that the delay of industrialization in Ghana and African states is as a result of neo-imperialism and neo-colonialism. There is no problem with neo-imperialism which encourages trade between developed and developing countries and neo-colonialism which originates from the link between past colonized countries and their past colonial rulers respectively. The only problem is when there is inequality in the country’s benefits relating to neo-imperialism and also when neo-colonialism plays foul on our independence and sovereignty as a country, straight as this.
In the case of imperialism, it is very wicked for our colonial rulers to open their options of trade with developing countries and limit our options to them only. That calls into question liberal market the WTO imposes on member countries… Imperial trade must be a fair relationship between a developed world and less developed world in terms of benefits. Let Ghana as an independent country resist oppressor’s rule resulting from neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism which is well defined in our national anthem.
I say, even a blind man will notice that the focus of government in industrialization as an investment will provide employment opportunities to a larger mass which will go a long way to broaden our chances of higher development. This puts out the question whether our leaders visionless, bought or influenced?
MR. EMMANUEL OSEI-POKU POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENT. UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON. 0246041723 emmanueloseipoku@rocketmail.com
