Ending the aid syndrome

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is a man on a mission. The new Ghanaian Head of State believes he could wean this nation off international aid, after sixty years of feeding fat on international crumbs. On his first European trip after assuming office as the seventh constitutional Head of State of this nation, since independence from colonial rule in 1957, the new leader of the nation Ghana has set out his vision in unambiguous terms.

“We want to build a Ghana beyond aid; a Ghana which looks to the use of its own resources. We want to build an economy that is not dependent on charity and handouts, but an economy that will look at the proper management of its resources, as the way to engineer social and economic growth in our country,” Nana Akufo-Addo said when addressing a round table discussion in Zurich, capital city of Switzerland.

It is tough talk from a leader whose entire economic resources, to quote Mr. John Dramani Mahama, the immediate past President of Ghana, “is down to the bare bone.” How does a leader struggling with meager resources talk of weaning his country off international aid, when not too long ago, as much as 45 percent of the national budget was contributed by international donors?

Judging from the bare facts available, President Akufo-Addo must be kicking against his weight. On the other hand, the President might know something that the ordinary Ghanaian has not been privy to. Whatever urges on the new Head of State, the fact on the ground is that he and his men and women face a formidable task, if this nation's economic fortunes could be turned, relying mainly on local resources.

The Chronicle wishes him well, and prays that in this rather difficult assignment the President has given himself, the entire population of Ghana would understand the import of the mission, and be with him along the treacherous and narrow path. The Chinese would tell you. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. We have to take that first step now!

The President believes his concept of 'One District, One Factory', linked with the idea of Planting for Jobs, in which Ghanaians are encouraged to grow food on every available land, would begin the rather gargantuan project of making this country self-sufficient in food production, with the surplus going into industrialisation.

The Chronicle buys into this idea, and urges the government to mount a massive education to sensitise Ghanaians on the need to think Ghanaian and eat Ghanaian.

When we have what we need to eat at home and lower our importation of other items, we would be well on the road to becoming self-sufficient. When we do not need to import unnecessarily, we might not be in need of aid.

It is universally acknowledged that in this capitalist world, there is nothing like a free lunch. In other words, all foreign aid has something attached. That is why we would do well to avoid hand-outs from international donors. In the beginning, it is going to be difficult doing without aid. But as our economy grows, we would be comfortable without hand-outs.

In whatever form it comes, aid is a means of keeping the people dependant on the international donors. In other words, it devalues the extent of our independence as a sovereign state.

Yesterday, this paper discussed the import of an ultimatum the World Bank has given Ghana. The Breton Woods institution is threatening to cut off aid to Ghana, because, as a people, we have not succeeded in overcoming our sanitary challenges.  Officials of the bank are particularly seething with anger over the fact that 60 years after independence, quite a number of the population of this country, still defecate in the open.

In other words, the World Bank is using aid as a means of punishment for this country, to discourage open defecation. For all we know, this nation can live without aid. We have what it takes to stop open defecation as well.

Let the Nana Addo administration provide the framework. The Chronicle believes the people of Ghana will help the administration, if not to get rid of aid in its totality, to, at least, minimise the potential to seek international assistance.

Yes, we can!