Ghana's $3 million donation to Haiti Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:02:19 -0800 (PST)

It appears President Atta Mills' NDC government has a fixation in dolling out monies in $3 millions. Perhaps, the NDC thinks $3 million dollars is not big enough to raise an eyebrow or President Mills has some mythical fascination for the number 3. In my next article I will list the number of times the NDC government has dished out 3 million dollars. Be as it may, the latest was the $3 million given to Haiti.

I know Ghana is still receiving Aid from other countries and I agree that we should help our dear brothers and sisters in Haiti, however, I suggest the donation could have been done in a much more coordinated and strategic way based on good decision making and assessments. I am confident that the government makes decisions with the interest of our nation at heart. I hope make a few suggestions that could be taken into consideration when such donations are made in the future, as they will help our nation as a whole. The $3 million dollars aid given to Haiti as support for the recent devastating earthquakes could have been allocated resourcefully as a portion of the money could have been used to purchase ‘Made in Ghana’ products like cocoa drinks, which had a lot of very healthy natural substances. In return this could have helped Ghanaian farmers to earn another source of income and assist in boosting our economy as a whole. Part of the money could be used to buy rice grown in Ghana since our own farmers have been distressed and have appealed to the government to ban the import of rice into Ghana. This money if it has been spent in Ghana would have helped small business and create jobs in our nation Ghana and still achieve the aim of assisting Haiti in her times of need.

In addition to allocating some of the relief money to purchasing ‘Made in Ghana’ products, we could have used a portion of the money to fund the dispatch of manpower (military, police, and reuse personnel) to help our dear brothers and sister in Haiti. Not only would we be assisting in the relief and rebuilding efforts of Haiti, but our people would have a firsthand experience in learning how to deal with natural disasters and get the opportunity to work and learn from other nations who have extensive knowledge in how to deal with these situations.

In all what I am saying is our money could have been spent in a much better way, which could have benefited the people of Haiti as well as our developing nation Ghana.

Paul Kyei Ofori. Hartford, Connecticut.     Â