Taxation needs to increase if we are to build a health service of which Ghana can be proud. These were the sentiments of Prof. Stephen Adei, Director of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.

Speaking recently at a conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG), Adei pronounced marketing did indeed have a role to play in creating a positive image of Ghana abroad, adding that however it is first necessary to reshape Ghana's self concept, so that the Ghana of today is a country of which Ghanaians can be proud.

This, Prof. Adei elaborated, translates as reduced unemployment, policies to tackle the poverty problem, as well as policies to improve infrastructure and health care.

Regarding the health system specifically, Prof. Adei called for an increase in VAT of 2.5 per cent. This, he claimed, would allow improvement to be seen in the shortest time.

He stressed it was important funds raised would reach the areas it was most needed, and not be amassed in the central fund where they may not be most efficiently allocated.

Prof. Adei also attacked Ghana Airways, describing the national airline as a 'national disgrace.'

He said the airline should not be allowed to carry on incurring debt, and demanded the 'selfish officials' responsible be held to account.

Prof. Adei made a slight dig at the government, suggesting it was the administration's responsibility to deal with such issues; however, in general he was very positive about the present government achievements.

He described the democratic transition a 'smooth', a credit, he said, to both the incoming and outgoing governments. Over the last 20 months, he continued, economic management has largely been successful.

Interest rates have been reduced from over 50 per cent to the mid-30s. Inflation figures are moving in the right direction and in this present year, in the months of July and August, which traditionally represent the worst period for food supply in a nation, greater quantities have been available than in any other year.

Prof. Adei stressed the need for the government to also market itself, saying government 'needed to brand themselves before they brand Ghana.'

It would be quite feasible, he said, for the government to do 'everything right' over the next couple of years, and yet be forced out of office in the next election because they had failed to promote themselves sufficiently and let their successes and achievements be well known.

If Ghana is able to create this positive self image, there are huge potentials for 'active brand management' abroad. Job creation, tourism, foreign investment and imported 'brain power' are just some of the possible benefits. How should Ghana be branded?

The Swiss are famous for their banking, Japan for its IT and communications and the Germans for their efficiency and discipline.

Even the British have positively harnessed their traditions such as the monarchy and their civility.

Presently Africa in general is associated in the international forum with poverty, corruption and HIV/AIDS.

Yet Ghana, and the whole of Africa, has a rich culture and tremendous creative value that should be harnessed.

Reflected in its history and leadership, Prof. Adei espoused that Africans were a 'nation of warriors' and urged this image be recaptured and promoted.