We Know Ghana’s Problems. Now, Where Do We Start?

Ask almost any Ghanaian what is wrong with the country and the answers come quickly: unemployment, corruption, public debt, poor sanitation, weak institutions, import dependence, political interference and inadequate public services.

We have studied, debated and documented these problems for decades. Yet many persist.

Perhaps Ghana's central development challenge is no longer identifying what is wrong. It is understanding why known problems keep reproducing themselves and deciding where to intervene first.

Treat the Cause, Not Only the Symptom
Consider sanitation. We can clear rubbish and desilt drains, but if citizens continue dumping waste improperly and authorities fail to enforce regulations, the problem returns.

The rubbish is visible. Beneath it are behaviour, responsibility and institutional failure.

The same pattern appears elsewhere. We build infrastructure but neglect maintenance. We condemn corruption while sometimes protecting offenders. Governments abandon projects initiated by predecessors. We complain about import dependence while producing too little of what we consume.

This is why mindset and institutions must change together.

In my work on the Ubuntu–Maat Mindset Model, I describe Mindset Maturity in terms of how people relate to others, the moral principles guiding their choices, their consideration of future consequences, and their capacity and responsibility to act.

However, mindset change cannot become another slogan. It must be supported by institutions that reward responsible behaviour and impose consequences for misconduct.

A Few Places to Start
Ghana does not need another fifty-item development agenda. We need a few foundational principles capable of influencing many sectors.

Consequence is one. Laws mean little when violations carry no predictable consequences.

Competence is another. Technical and professional institutions require capable people, regardless of political affiliation.

Production must also become central. Ghana cannot sustainably create employment, strengthen its currency and reduce economic vulnerability without producing and processing more of what it consumes and developing competitive exports.

But perhaps one of the most important principles is continuity and national ownership.

A road, hospital, school, railway or other public facility financed from taxes, national revenue or public borrowing belongs to Ghana. Government has not given citizens a gift; it has used national resources to perform a public responsibility.

Governments should therefore see themselves as temporary custodians of national development, not owners of projects undertaken during their tenure.

They may deserve recognition for efficient execution, innovation and responsible management, but the asset belongs to Ghana. Likewise, an incoming administration should not abandon a worthwhile project because its predecessor initiated it. Development must accumulate across governments rather than repeatedly begin again with them.

From Party Development to Ghana's Development

We should also confront another problem: Ghana spends an extraordinary amount of intellectual and emotional energy on partisan politics.

Politics is essential to democracy. But must almost every national question become NPP versus NDC?

For a while, perhaps Ghana needs to talk less politics and devote more energy to development.

Instead of constantly discussing the next election, we should be discussing the next generation.

What should Ghana produce twenty years from now? Which industries should we build? What skills will our young people require? How do we modernise agriculture? How should our cities develop? How can universities, research institutions, industry and government work together?

Political parties invest enormous energy in organisation, mobilisation, communication and strategy to win elections. Imagine applying comparable national energy to solving Ghana's development problems.

This requires a shift from party development to national development.

A good idea should not need a political jersey. If an idea can improve Ghana, its value should not depend on whether it comes from NPP, NDC, another party or someone with no party affiliation.

Governments will change. Political parties will win and lose. Ghana must continue.

We should therefore judge governments not merely by how many projects they claim, but by the condition in which they leave the country.

Did institutions become stronger? Did production increase? Were existing assets maintained? Were worthwhile inherited projects completed? Did public money produce value? Is the next generation inheriting a stronger Ghana?

These questions move us from political ownership towards national stewardship.

Ghana already knows many of her problems. We do not need to spend another generation repeatedly diagnosing them.

We need to decide where to start, assign responsibility, measure results and remain committed beyond the electoral cycle.

No government owns Ghana's development. Each administration receives temporary responsibility for advancing it.

Ultimately, therefore, the question is not whether NPP has developed or NDC has developed.

The question is whether Ghana has developed.

And that is where we should start.
Dr. Isaac Yaw Asiedu
Author, Shifting Mindsets for Sustainable Development in Africa: A Political Economy Perspective

Rethinking Africa: www.rethinkingafrica.org