ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR GHANA – Dr. Kwaku Osafo

The fundamental objective of a development plan in the 21st Century is to build a modern nation which is industrialized with knowledge based local expertise in engineering, science, information-communication technology, medicine, journalism, environment, architecture and philosophy. To do this the citizens have to believe in themselves and have the spirit of I – CAN – DO – IT. The spirit of a people to overcome all obstacles to dignifying themselves through self-reliance and self-achievement is the most important non-economic ingredient in the development nexus. The dignity of a man flows from his essence as a spiritual being. The original condition of man over animals hinged on his spirituality. Kwame Nkrumah is a testimony to the greatness that is inherent in the human spirit through his impetus for liberation of the African continent. Unfortunately in Africa today, the human spirit burns low and in the process all kinds of victimization are visited on the African people at home and abroad. The people of Ghana and Africa have been so ruthlessly exploited, brutalized, enslaved and humiliated that they have developed an infirmity of the spirit. As President of Ghana, I will strive to revive the spirit of our people so that we can undertake the massive development agenda needed to realize our mutual prosperity and dignity. The Chinese, Indians and others went through the same process until they revived their spirit for accelerated development. Ghana cannot muddle through the maze of development options without a proper development plan

A CPP government under my leadership will put together a 5 year development plan within six months of assuming power. Such a development plan will seek to turn Ghana into an industrialized country with al least middle income level status. That Ghana’s percentage of manufactured goods still hovers around 10 percent of total GDP after 1966’s overthrow of Nkrumah shows Ghana’s is an indictment on our policies of outright dependence on raw materials, cocoa and other natural resources for income and survival – a typical characteristic of an underdeveloped economy. The CPP government’s 5 year plan will set targets for all the sectors of the economy including the building of human resources needs and knowledge based expertise in agriculture, engineering (geological, hydraulic, water, civil, petroleum, atomic and nuclear, ICT, medicine, journalism, etc. These requirements will be directly linked with the personnel requirements that will be produced in our universities or abroad as was done in the fifties and sixties.

The development plan will be based on rapid science and technology education, training and apprenticeship with interlinkages to industry, universities and indigenous enterprises and informal technological bases like magazine in Kumasi and Apostle Kwadwo Safo’s industrial complex.

The development plan also hinges understandably on the process of growth including its social, environmental and institutional aspects. The plan builds ownership, improves development outcomes. Severe inequalities in investment in education, shelter and health imply that millions of Ghanaians will lack opportunities to improve their lives. Education differences in Ghana, for example, are one reason why the impact of growth on poverty is six times greater in Airport Residential Area in Accra than in Asikuma/Odoben or Jirapa/Lambussie or Krachi or Builsa or Tolon Kumbungu, Asante Akim South. Secondly, poor governance retards growth and particularly limits the poor. Large-scale corruption allows domestic elites and some transnationals to steer policies and laws to their own advantage at others expense. Strengthening the rule of law or reducing corruption from high levels over a long term is associated with more than doubling of average incomes. Civil and political liberties and freedom of the press help to reduce corruption, improves the effectiveness of social spending and safety nets and increase the productivity of investments.

Thirdly, improving quality, and protecting natural resources spurs growth and welfare directly, especially for the poor. Dealing with pollution in cities, the depletion and deteriorations of water supplies, the destruction of our forests and precious biodiversity is urgent and can make a big difference.

 THE SPECIFICS OF THE PLAN

My government will be based on the pursuit of our greater common good, built on a three pronged approach of:

· Increased productivity of basic foods, raw materials and export crops such as cocoa, pineapples, coffee, cotton and shear nut utilizing small and medium scale irrigation;

· Added value-by focusing on agro-processing and increased manufacturing in light industry; and

· Knowledge-based industries such as telecommunications, computers, software pharmaceuticals (including local herbs etc) education and television. The framework for development will be a highly decentralized one in which every district, municipality and metropolitan area will have a viable industry based on a value chain for which it has a comparative advantage in natural resources and location. The plan will give priority to developing commensurate institutional and policy reforms needed to effectively implement programs that will be derived from the Strategic Plan for Revitalization and Investment in the Ghanaian Economy (SPRINGE). This will entail an integrated multi-sectoral implementation approach at national and district level. The state and Ghanaian entrepreneurs will play a major role in the plan.

A number of core areas with clear targets will be associated with SPRINGE and these include education, infrastructure and transportation, agriculture, energy, oil, mining, health, governance etc.

EDUCATION

· There is absolute need to regenerate educational establishments in the country from primary schools to university. This entails, above all, bridging the learning institutions by computerizing the schools and linking them to information that is transforming the world. Raising admission standards, particularly at the university is a necessity. Such measures will lift the institutions of higher level to pristine levels that characterized the immediate post-colonial years. There is also the urgent need to provide and expand residential facilities. In addition, faculty salaries should be raised significantly to boost morale towards scholarly excellence. At the moment, deplorable conditions of employment have bred, for the most part, a breed of lecturers who seldom publish books or referred journal articles. No wonder that there has been a steady migration of brain power, leading to the procession of half-baked graduates who have very little with which to contribute to national development.

· My government will add to the current tier of universal primary education, a compulsory secondary education up to the age of 18 years. It will be a universal compulsory secondary education program that will be supplemented with Guild apprenticeships and qualification in order to make maximum capital of our burgeoning number of youth.

o All regions will have full-fledged universities with emphasis on science and technology and research and development.

o The plan would envisage the doubling of medical students and nurses in a number of institutions;

o Post-secondary teacher training institutions will be established to boost the number of teachers for primary and JSS education.

o We shall emphasize in-service training and retooling of middle and top management to fulfill demands of a national results oriented management policy that will be coupled with public sector reform in favor of reallocating human resource capacity to decentralization.

AGRICULTURE

· Modernization of agriculture to assure food security and sustain industry will be achieved by;

o Promoting competitiveness of strategic Ghanaian produce and products in the regional and global market place through productivity increase, export incentives mechanisms and improved international trade negotiation strategies.

o Fostering a value added chain approach in agricultural entrepreneurship at every level. Special innovations such as factory farm approach for intermediate to large-scale farming and one-stop center approach for small–scale farmers will be employed to afford maximum opportunity for value addition and reduction in transaction costs; and also

o Development of small and medium irrigation schemes for rice, onions etc. through dams, boreholes, dug-outs and artificial lakes. The sum total of gains from agricultural productivity will improve livelihoods by reducing cost of food and hence the total percentage of house hold income spent on food. This will particularly favor the poor because they spend a greater percentage of their house hold income, up to 60%, on food. The modernization of agriculture is an important step towards industrialization that very few countries have managed to avoid. It is an imperative for a country that is well endowed and has a large rural population.  

INFRASTRUCTURE

· We shall create a National Ring Road with interconnecting traverses by completing key strategic roads in the country including;  

o Leg 1 - The trans West Africa Coastal road running from Aflao to Elubo;

Leg 2 - An Eastern Corridor Highway running from Accra through Ho, Jasikan, Bimbilla, Saboba, Nalerigu to Bawku;   o Leg 3 - A Western Corridor Highway running from Cape Coast through Wassa, Sunyani, Bole, and Wa to Jirapa;   o Leg 4 - A top link Highway running from Jirapa, Sissala, Navrongo to Bawku;   o Mid-Belt Travers road from Buipe through Kawsawgu to Salaga and Kpandai and

o Central traverse road from Berekum through Kumasi to Atebubu, Sene and Nkwanta.

When complete this national ring road with its strategic East to West traverse roads will bring about a quantum leap in connectivity that will unleash an immense productivity gains that will in turn will impact geatly on the economy and the affected rural societies. It will be a major step forward to bridging gaps in the development of the country and also increasing communication among Ghanaians. At the very least it will heighten the sense of inclusion that so many communities are denied under our current focus on creating metropolis.  

TRANSPORTATION

· The plan will include a proposition to construct a railway from North to South with linkages to East and West of the country. The plan will also envisage the construction of city trams and subways Young Ghanaian engineers will be sent abroad for training in the building of railways and subways. The present vehicular jams in our cities will not be sustainable in the nearest future. We have to plan ahead. The psychological impact of seeing Ghanaians themselves lay out first rate roads and railways will be tremendous in a land where colonial paralysis had made Africans believe that they cannot accomplish any worthwhile enterprise in the modern world.  

MINING

The mining sector of Ghana has received a deceptive boost in investment. It is deceptive because of the low equity that Ghana holds in these enterprises ranging from 4 percent or 20 in AngloAshanti to ten percent in Newmont and others. The constant battling of the Galamsey miners with the big mining companies leading to the death our citizens need to be resolved. A CPP government will organize Galamsey miners into cooperatives with gold concessions license at specific locations and areas in the country in order to legitimize their operations. As cooperatives the government will support them with machines and expert advice which they will pay for on installments etc. My government will also expand local refinery capacity.

The CPP government will enforce environmental control requirements of mining areas with iron fist so that our lands, water resources are not permanently destroyed.

HEALTH

The improvement in the health of Ghanaians depends on nutrition, potable water and sanitation. When these are available, the health status of the country becomes satisfactory. Ghana ranks low in guinea worm and malaria prevention and these are attributable to lack of potable water and sanitation. The National Insurance Scheme and other health facilities are established after the deficiencies in supply of these deliveries. Health is also linked with nutrition and exercise. This is why it is important to improve agriculture to supply the food needs of Ghanaians from poultry to fish, animal protein and food nutrients from beans, rice etc.

Knowledge based areas like medicine pharmacy and pharmaceuticals, nursing are playing a crucial role in the global economy. Ghana must double its enrolment of medical students, nurses, laboratory technicians and other allied areas for its economy as well as for export. A CPP government will expand the training facilities for these specialized areas in the health sector.

ENERGY

Although the present government is coping with the present energy crises, there is an urgent need to plan for the next 40-50 years. Ghana should in the medium term activate a nuclear reactor to generate electricity, and massively resort to wind mills and the use of solar energy to provide power for cooking, boiling water and construct small and medium hydro-electric dams on already identified rivers for towns and communities. These are imperatives that cannot wait for the anticipated boost in petroleum supply.

OIL

Ghanaians should not be too euphoric about the recent discovery of oil. At best the total reserves would be between 2 and 3 billion barrels which will come on stream in 3 or 4 years. As indicated in my article on oil in the Daily Graphic and inserted in the brochure oil can become a curse and not a blessing. If the total reserve is about 2 billion barrels it could be exploited within a period of 10-15 years and Ghana’s receipt in revenue will not be more than $40 billion over the period. What is important is the judicious utilization of the revenue for development. I have listed fifteen areas where the oil money could be applied. These include: free education up to SS level; establishing and building our own strategic oil reserves; strengthening with resources our research in the universities and institutions such as CSRI and its affiliates; developing agriculture with inputs and other incentives for self-sufficiency; providing more low cost housing in the outlying towns away from the cities; having an industrialization plan with the state playing a leading role to produce most of the commodities we consume; institute strict environmental protection etc.

 GOVERNANCE

Whilst recognizing the need for a national figurehead, my Presidency will be a hand-on with the Presidency taking a keen interest in monitoring and assessment of key deliverables of the implementation process. The instruments of governance needed to achieve key targets of the SPRINGE will be effected within the first 100 days of my Presidency.

The flagship of the development plan will be full decentralization that empowers districts politically and financially. Hear this and read my lips…… District Chief Executives or their equivalent under my administration will be elected by universal suffrage in their areas within my first term office as President. The people will be free at last to choose those who govern the allocation of resources for development in their districts in a non partisan way:

SOCIAL JUSTICE

This brings me to an issue close to my heart and central to the theme of my future government, development with compassion. We must as a nation banish forever into oblivion, the ever lingering thought of hegemony and elitism that result in gross inequities in Ghanaian society today. We must work hard to bridge the divide between the north and south, urban and rural, rich and poor. A CPP government led by me will adopt a policy of proactive accelerated development to bridge the yawning gap between the pace of development in the south versus the north.

A key initiative to ensure effective implementation of such a policy will be targeted real-time monitoring and assessment, with periodic evaluation that is linked to a strong policy for decentralized investments and accountability. My government will consider measures to permanently correct the prevailing failed trickle-down system through national and regional tiers of governance that leaves no clear roles and responsibilities for districts to act in accordance with a firm predetermined five year plan for which budgetary allocation can be guaranteed.

CONCLUSION

No modern nation can survive if it is caught up in a time warp that stalls its social and technological transformation. I will work to transform Ghana in the shortest possible time from a nation of small-scale producers who sell only raw materials, to a nation of medium and large scale producers that produce commercially to feed an industry that adds value to produce for manufactured goods. The strategy to change this must be an integrated one based on comparative advantage of different districts and equitable distribution of opportunity that is also tied to allocation of resources for development. The process must be one of empowerment, accountability and results oriented management. The process must be driven by a knowledge-based economy that can only be achieved through purposeful education.

It is true that all politicians make many promises and deliver on few if any. I assure you that as the next President of Ghana, I Kwaku Osafo will not put my political survival above the objective of delivering on the promises that I make to you today! I will not play safe by tinkering to create the illusion of fulfilling these promises! I will walk the talk as I did with the public declaration of my assets which no aspirant has done yet!

Those who do not know me can check my track record in Ghana and abroad. Just as an example, I supervised the delivery of over 1,950 micro-projects to the value of 27.8 million Euros in a period of 5 years in Ghana. I visited each of these projects sites at least once and some two or three times. These projects were all over Ghana with particular emphasis in the northern sector, I thank the EU for this opportunity to serve my country.

My varied professional background in economic development, strategic policy, international trade negotiations and project implementation have amply qualified and prepared me to deal hands on with the complexity of the multi-sectoral development thrust that a young developing nation needs.

I have the energy, capacity, sincerity and know-how to help Ghana make the next quantum leap into the economic Jerusalem of a middle income country! Nkrumah and his contemporaries delivered to our generation the political kingdom. It is now incumbent on our generation to deliver to our youth and their children the economic kingdom all over Ghana and for all Ghanaians. Ladies and Gentlemen you have seen me, heard a part of my vision and witnessed the earnestness of my commitment to delivering on the issues that have been raised. I charge you to bear me witness on my promises, especially the press if I am elected the flag bearer and God willing next President of this great nation of ours.

Let those who wish to harvest the fruits of our bountiful opportunities join me now in working in the fields from today onwards for God and country! I sincerely thank you for your kind attention and await the discourse that will begin now. Together we shall continue on this journey towards our greater common good as one people and one nation. Long Live Ghana in Freedom and Justice!!!

God Bless You!