Ghana Investor Confidence Low -Thanks to Ghana Police Service

Over the years the Republic of Ghana has enjoyed the limelight of being referred to as the beacon of democracy on the African continent, with Ghanaians priding themselves as the gateway to Africa.

This limelight shone so brightly that foreign investors took an interest in Ghana , and this led to the infrastructural development that the citizens enjoy today.

However, over the past 8yrs this limelight seems to dim, and this tangible reality has a direct hit on the economy of the country , pushing the average Ghanaian into poverty levels never seen before in the history of the Republic of Ghana. One would ask, what are the factors that led to the dilemma Ghanaians find themselves in. Now take a seat back and ponder over the following.

In 2017, a “human rights” lawyer was sworn into office as the President of the Republic of Ghana, this caught the attention of the global investor community, with leaders from countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Denmark etc all flocking into Ghana to cement the level of trust that investors from their respective countries should have in the newly elected government of Ghana.

Ghana’s rich and critical mineral reserves has always been the icing on the cake for global investors and the hospitality Ghana’s human capital holds makes Ghana a perfect destination for most investors , until reality sets in to expose the country’s injustices when it comes to Policing in Ghana. In many countries around the globe, Police Forces/Services personnels at least know what mandate they are to uphold to protect civil society and the integrity of the country as a whole, but should you put that test of integrity to any Ghana Police Service personnel, you would be amazed at the ignorance, bigotry and lack of responsibility towards the overall integrity of Ghana. This shocking revelation was exhibited on the 21st December 2024, when a group calling itself Democracy Hub embarked a demonstration to highlight the lack of Government’s resolve to tackle the Galamsey issue facing the country today , and the Ghana Police Service took a despicable decision to trample on the fundamental human rights of the citizens of Ghana.

This despicable act, as a stand alone action rippled across various international media platforms, sending the wrong signals to anyone with any viable interest in the economy of Ghana., because as an investor, one would feel secured knowing that monies put in the economy would be protected under the visible rule of law. Foreign investors with eyes and ears on the ground , have all started pulling the brakes on the projections they had for Ghana. The Ghana economy will suffer , and in the end families and friends of the same Ghana Police personnel who shamefully conducted themselves tramplers of democracy would feel the crunch that every Ghanaian would feel.

A prominent foreign investor based in Aburi , said and l quote “ It is shameful to have a president who everyone sees as a human rights lawyer oversee a Police service that do not even know what the fundamental human rights of the people their are supposed to protect.” Unquote.

The Inspector General of Police, has his work cut out for him, to try to clean up the bad image the police service has crafted for itself over the past couple of years , for trust to come back for Investors to begin making inroads into Ghana.

A. Dodoo
Social Commentator and Chairperson of the Diaspora Development Network -The Netherlands