How I See Ghana Developing In The Next Few Years

As some of you may be aware of now, my heritage is of British Ghanaian. Growing up in London to Ghanaian parents, I have always been fascinated by my roots. An individual that likes to travel back home at any given opportunity, I absolutely adore Ghana and everything it has to offer. A country that has an abundance of potential to give to the world, as we have entered 60 years of independence the following post will be focusing on ‘What Ghana means to me’ and how I see the country developing in the next couple of years.

Ghana is a relatively small country in comparison to their other neighbours, the country gained independence in 1957. The first African country in the Sub-Sahara to obtain independence from a colonial rule. Ghana was once known as the ‘Gold Coast’ and independence was orchestrated by the former leader Dr Kwame Nkrumah who has been categorised as one of the most influential leaders in Africa. His poignant and passion led speech which he delivered on 6^th March 1957 at the independence square to thousands of exhilarated Ghanaians; “your country is free forever, we are prepared to pick it up and make it a nation that will be respected by every nation in the world”.

Nkrumah was extremely instrumental in implementing his ideologies of communism and socialism. The former leader was also assisted by the big six including William Ofori-Atta (my great uncle-founding member of the UGCC.) Fast forward 60 years later, now a developing economy with some of the best natural resources in the world. The reality is the country is still perceived as being ‘young’ in terms of its development. However, the country is under a new government who are in the framework of implementing an influx of positive changes.

Born and bred in the UK to Ghanaian parents, my parents originate from the Eastern region. My mother comes from the renowned Ofori-Atta family, she is the cousin of the current president Nana Akufo Addo. The head of the Ofori-Atta family who was Nana Sir Ofori-Atta was king of the Akyem region one of the largest and wealthiest kingdoms of what was formerly known as Gold coast. As an individual that has always had a keen interest in my cultural background and has had the opportunity to visit several regions in Ghana such as the Ashanti region, beautiful and scenic Cape coast and the Volta region. The country has a lot to offer from warm hospitality to delicious and fresh delicacies. Most importantly it is a county that has potential to grow and develop, blessed with natural resources such as Gold and Oil and one of the largest producers of Cocoa. I recently read on www.resourcegovenance.org that “Ghana is the second largest gold producer in Africa, while it also produces bauxite and manganese. The gold industry contributes more than 90% of total mineral revenues”. With a vast amount of potential to be one of the best countries in Africa; Ghana which I affectionately call home. As soon as you step off the plane at Kotoka airport you are suddenly hit with the hot air, it really is utterly indescribable. You certainly must experience it for yourself.

Ghana in the next 5 years, well I foresee growth, more jobs with several expats working in Ghana to provide their expertise. A refined and tighter structure to implement effective change and most importantly better health care. Recently I have come across several young Ghanaians in the diaspora that are flying the nest or considering to take their expertise back home with the aim of helping the country grow. Also in Ghana, itself there is great talent in sectors such as Media and Telecommunications and many more.

Entrepreneurship in Ghana is on the rise with young entrepreneurs such as Sangu Delle who graduated from the Harvard Business school is founder of Golden Palm Investments, he was once voted in the ‘top 30 most promising entrepreneurs in Africa in Africa’ in 2014. Several British Ghanaian entrepreneurs such as the Dapaah Group who are ‘social entrepreneurs on a mission to promote and empower Africa especially Ghana and the diaspora’. They have created Dapaah chocolates which they describe as ‘on a journey to hand-craft luxury vegan chocolates from the finest cocoa beans across Africa and the diaspora. They can be found on social media as ‘Dapaah Group’. Borley Quaye the American native born to a Ghanaian father and American mother, the young female entrepreneur who has a keen passion for Ghana who I discussed in an earlier post. Her aim is to introduce Ghana to the diaspora and create awareness. I also love the fact female empowerment is picking up in Ghana, the beautiful Samira Bawumia the ‘second lady of Ghana’. The epitome of sheer class and beauty, she has become a leading member of the NPP party. Samira has often commented that she strives to create female empowerment in Ghana. Last year she said; “I take the privilege of serving the people of our country very seriously. Therefore, I will not relent in my modest efforts to champion the cause of the under-privileged, poor and needy in society. Let us respect the contributions of women to the development of our dear nation”. You can see why she has required an abundance of fans over the last couple of months.

Ghana is certainly a country with rich heritage that will develop into the nation it wants it to be, with amazing talent in the country and outside. However, this may take a couple of years, hopefully we can bring Nkrumah’s speech into fruition making it into a nation that will be respected ‘by every nation in the world’. A country that has so much to offer to the world, I would love to hear how you see Ghana developing in the next couple of years.

Thanks for reading.