Domestication: The Answer To Dollarisation Of The Ghanaian Economy

Quotation from the late Dan Lartey has come home to roost.

“Eat what you grow.Grow what you eat, stockpile and export –Domestication”!

This is the long term solution for Ghana's economic woes

When the total dollar value of a country's imports exceeds the total dollar value of its exports, the county has a trade deficit. This means the country is exporting fewer goods than it is importing. When a country's trade deficit increases, the value of that country's currency depreciates against the currency of its trading partner countries.

As we have consistently imported more goods over the years than we exported to our trading partners then the Cedi depreciates against the dollar and other currencies.

A short-term solution would have been for the government, if it had enough foreign reserves, to intervene in the foreign exchange market to prop up the Cedi. But unfortunately, the government may virtually have very little or no reserves to be able to significantly impact on the foreign exchange market. And even if the government has the reserves to intervene,It may be ok for the short term but we need long term solutions.

Ghana imports almost everything. A long-term way of reducing inflation and thus restoring some confidence in our national currency is to produce, produce and produce and export, export and export. Ghana can earn dollars, euros, Pound sterling and other currencies (foreign reserves) by producing.

We have to earn more from our exports especially by value addition such as oranges, pineapples, Pawpaw, mangoes including other fruits and vegetables.

Ghana cannot rely on cocoa alone for a lifetime at the expense of other products.

We should encourage the large production of rice,maize ,palm oil ,rubber and sugarcane for the production of sugar.

If we don't promote domestication to change our current import orientation to export orientation, then the light at the end of the tunnel will continue to elude us.

We have to pursue Ghana Economic Empowerment through domestication.

The economy of Ghana should be in the hands of Ghanaians.

Long live domestication!

Aye Pinsooo!

Long live Ghana!

Dr Henry Herbert Lartey

Chairman/Leader