‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ Is About Ghana

A former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hanna Tetteh, has said the government’s ‘Ghana ‘Beyond Aid’ agenda is good for achieving self-sufficiency and prosperity, but it must be a medium-term goal, saying it cannot be achieved in “the remaining two years of this government”.

Although some persons in the opposition National Democratic Congress [NDC], have punched holes into the vision, Hanna Tetteh in a twitter post said the vision must be pursued in a “bipartisan and inclusive manner” because it is about Ghana and not the governing New Patriotic Party [NPP].

“Ghana beyond Aid” should be a national aspiration as it would mean self sufficiency & prosperity but it is not achievable during the 2 years left of this govts term, it's essentially a medium term goal & therefore the effort to get there should be bipartisan & inclusive

— Hanna Tetteh (@HannaTetteh) March 15, 2018
Hanna Tetteh made the remark in response to Citi FM’s tweet about the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, calling on directors of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies not to sabotage the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ initiative.

“Our Chief Directors and other heads of ministries, departments and agencies who are at the helm of affairs have the arduous task of leading your respective institutions towards the success of these programs,” Bawumia said when he addressed the Chief Directors at a recent dialogue session.

Hanna Tetteh also urged the governing party to put Ghana first while seeking to make the vision possible.

It's not about the NPP Government, it's about our country Ghana & we should distinguish between the two. We may not agree with them on how to achieve that goal & can criticise their policies, but we should also want good things for Ghana that make us stronger & more prosperous

— Hanna Tetteh (@HannaTetteh) March 15, 2018
About Ghana Beyond Aid
Since he assumed office, Akufo-Addo has reiterated his resolve to grow the country's economy from one of dependence on foreign aid to independence, and ensuring its development using local resources.

Nana Akufo-Addo, who has on various national and international platforms emphasized his belief that Ghana, like many other African countries, is endowed with enormous resources to guarantee its growth, recently caught global attention when he made a strong case for his position at an event which had French President Emmanuel Macron as a guest.

Many have declared their support for the agenda which the government says is without a timeline, but hopes that it becomes a paradigm and an approach that will ensure the country is able to internally mobilize enough resources to finance its major policy and programs.

Ghana aid mantra a mere rhetoric – Amissah-Arthur

Some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress have also been expressing their views on the vision.

Former Vice President, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur described it as a mere rhetoric .

“I'm comfortable if 'Ghana Beyond Aid' is saying we will only borrow for capital investment and not recurrent obligation. But the problem has not been defined for me to understand it. It is just the rhetoric. It sounds nice, but what goes into it? People will support it, if they understand what the objective is. As at now, everybody is left to define it how he understands it, and then to decide to support it or to oppose it,” he said.

Ghana Beyond Aid: 'We won't say no to gifts' – Oppong Nkrumah

The government has clarified that its 'Ghana Beyond Aid agenda is not intended to reject support from donors , but rather depend on local resources for the execution of its planned programs.

A Deputy Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who made the statement on the Eyewitness News on Thursday said the government had outlined major policy pillars to drive the agenda by ensuring that enough resources were generated locally to enable the government carry out all its major developmental programs.