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Ghana's economy being run like a "Ponzi scheme"- Kofi Amoah

By Myjoyonline
Economy & Investments Ghana's economy being run like a Ponzi scheme- Kofi Amoah
APR 13, 2015 LISTEN

Entrepreneur Dr. Kofi Amoah says government appears to be running a Ponzi scheme with the economy given that it is borrowing to pay loans it has contracted.

Expressing his disgust at management of the economy, the CEO of entertainment hub, Citizen Kofi says Finance Minister Seth Terkper is “running a ponzi scheme” with the economy.

An “embarrassed Ghanaian” as he described himself, Dr. Amoah says looking for loans to fund investments is a poor choice amongst Ghana's options for development.

He believes there are too many opportunities in Ghana that can generate money for the investments the country needs to make.

Agriculture remains one of Ghana's “low hanging fruits” which can easily be plucked and turned into a multi-billion dollar industry, he said on Joy FM's Super Morning Show Monday.

Building his case for agriculture as the most viable development option, he showed the results of three countries, Israel, India, Brazil and an American state, California.

He said agriculture represents only 2.5% of Israel's economy yet it contributes $10billion a year to that country's economy.

With Ghana's infrastructure needing an estimated $1billion investment every year, it is easy to see how agriculture can build roads, hospitals and schools for 10 years if Ghana had Israel's money from the soil.

He said the Central region has quality soil texture than Brazil yet the South American country produces 12 times Ghana's yearly yield for maize.

He was not finished in his 'simple' analysis of Ghana's seemingly complex challenges.

The entrepreneur cannot believe that Ghana is still importing oil palm when Western region has been identified as the key to cashing into the multi-billion dollar oil palm industry.

India imports six million tonnes of palm oil a year and China tops this up with 8.5 million tonnes, he revealed. Ghana can easily take advantage of this market, he maintained.

Although California is a state, it would have been the 15th wealthiest country in the world if it was ranked.

A 500-mile stretch of land in California has been dedicated to agriculture, he pointed out with shock seeping through his voice.

Dr. Amoah wondered why Ghana could not do this because according to him, “when you put people and land together, you generate wealth”.

For an even more imperative reason for Ghana to invest in agriculture, he referred to a prediction by the World Bank that the world will be experiencing a food crisis within 30 years.

According to Dr. Amoah, the manner in which governments are “running around… begging and looking foolish before everybody”, betrays the lack of understanding about building an economy.

Ghana is set to receive nearly one billion dollars in funding from the International Monetary Fund. The money will be spread over three years.

The country's debt has been put at 76billion cedis, a figure which analysts say, exposes a lack of fiscal discipline.

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