Opinions of Saturday, 13 June 2015

Columnist: Nkunim, Yaw

Policy Harmonization: CPP Keys to African Unity 2

In projecting Ghana as the center of the world, the fundamentals of our economic chess have to be elaborately rooted. We must reorganize the sculpture of our current isolated economy. This adjustment, is basically broadening our base in fusion with economic Africa. Having enumerated the policy harmonization strategy for the currency in part one, we now focus on entry visa and transportation systems.

Ghana’s entry visa system must be re-sculpted. The aim is to simplify it to be more efficient, effective and friendly. The center of the world must both be welcoming and secured. Friendliness and security guarantee peace. Peace is pre-requisite for investment and progressive development. We must therefore be up to speed with data of Ghanaians and visitors alike, at all times.

The visa system must be split in two stages. Initial one month entry visa must be issued to every applicant. Upon entry, which must ideally be linked to a revived national airline, the Ghanaian host then guarantees to secure an appropriate visa from the Foreign Affairs Ministry. This must cover both vacation and working visitors. Thus, the host family or company subsequently have the obligation of “producing” guests when necessary.

Upon a reliable database, this visa system alignment will greatly help the national planning and security authorities. This will greatly boost Ghana’s status as the center of the new world. Our world acclaimed traditional hospitality will further deepen in substance. Hopefully and ideally, a revived national airline across the global skies must reflect Ghana as the center of the new world. Ghana Airways with its distinguished Ghanaian pilots and crew once made us proud. We can do it again.

The new policy must not stand in isolation. In alignment with the Africa Unity Policy, we must table it at Addis Ababa for adoption as African policy. In unison, the coordination and monitoring of such a policy have a far greater economic returns than when isolated. Every step taken towards the new nation agenda must be as much as possible, simultaneously hooked to the whole Black World.

Transportation is a must for harmonization in the Black world. It is a critical sector for African Unity and subsequent socio-economic transformation. An efficient and effective transportation system is invaluable to a United Economic Africa. Every effort must be exploited to ensure smooth flow of human, goods and services traffic. Transportation equation of any economic system is simple mathematics.

At any standstill traffic jam, the cluster of people, goods and services caught in the latter are simply unproductive during that specific material span of time. Money is therefore not being spent nor earned. Productive man hours are simply lost to the economy. Indeed, cost of fuel and other running costs of vehicles are increased in traffic jams and other inefficient transport systems.

This logic is applicably transposed to cross border impediments at various entry points of African countries. While working to create effective, efficient and smooth networks, other means of transportation must be fully exploited. Air, sea and rail transport particularly are seriously under developed. A geographical database, especially of the cities and agricultural areas in terms of commute will greatly help in redesigning the transportation network.

Sea transport, efficiently developed locally can turn the whole coastal belt into a daily commuting service. From Elubo to Aflao, we can have mass sea transport jets that ply tourist, workers, goods and services on daily return basis. Various countries on the coastal belt, in policy harmonization through the African Union, will then have the same system in place. The whole continent then will have a seamless sea transport system.

A well-developed mono rail system can change overnight, the structure of various metropolitan lifestyles across the continent under the same harmonisation program. While saving time with its traffic free network, the mono rail will substantially decongest our metropolitan roads as a bulk comfortable transporter. Mono rail has interestingly been largely accident free since its development. Above all, it is ultimately cheaper than road transport.

With all the various facets of transportation policies harmonized, Africa will be in constant movement. This integration and movement is what generates the continental economy. Harmonization of policy is the catalyst for Pan Africanism. This is the strategy for African Economic Hegemony. Africa must unite! Forward ever! Nkunim woho mayen!! God bless Africa.

Author: Yaw Nkunim Sculptor, Writer, Concept Developer & CPP Member