Ghana Beyond Aid must be made a Ghanaian dream — Dev't Economist

A development economist with the University of Ghana, Dr. Hayford Mensah Ayerakwa has called on the Ministry of Education to ensure that, the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda is taught in our schools.

He made the call during a lecture organized by a policy thinktank, Danquah Institute on Founders’ Day.

The lecture which was under the theme: “The independence struggle: Our heroes and the fight for democracy” had the objective of highlighting the different contributions that were made by different people and groups, including ‘ordinary persons’ in the struggle for independence.

Speaking on the sub-theme “The Founders’ struggle for economic independence: is there any light at the end of the tunnel" Dr. Ayerakwa traced the different economic policies that had guided Ghana's growth and development agenda as a country from 1920 to date.

He underscored the role of export earnings from cocoa in the development policies over the period.

His lecture focused on the period prior to independence, the situation during independence and immediately after independence as well as the period from 1966 to 1983 which saw the introduction of the Economic Recovery Program (ERP).

In considering the prospects for Ghana into the future, Dr. Ayerakwa was of the view that 'The Ghana Beyond Aid' Charter should be imbibed into every Ghanaian and be made a Ghana Agenda.

“Every Ghanaian child must know what the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda is and desire to contribute to bringing it to fruition. We must also demand of our leaders to keep this as a priority in all future policies,” he stated.

He said the Free Senior High School Policy, The One District One Factory (1D1F), Planting for Food and Jobs, Digitalization drive etc were all policies that could be consolidated to bring the desired benefit to the citizenry.

Dr. Ayerakwa used the occasion to encourage Government to support the private sector to lead the development agenda while the government focused on the provision of infrastructure and an appropriate policy environment that supports the growth of the private sector.

He called on Ghanaians especially the youth to take advantage of the myriad of opportunities Government continues to make available to them, including the YouStart initiative.

He charged the youth to also take advantage of technology to develop their technical and entrepreneurial skills to effectively participate in the economic and development discourse of the country.

This, he said, were sure ways of bringing economic independence to all and that will fulfil the dreams of our Founders’ while we write our unique history for generations to come.