Ghana’s Economy: Heartache Under NPP Gov’t

I making these emphatic statements not based on any personal hatred against the NPP and the NDC as political parties but I do so on the basis of what history has proven on the issue of the Ghanaian economy and by extension the African economy. These two parties deviate from the valid principles that can salvage us.

It must be noted that the Ghanaian economy is a “Neo-colonial economy”. There is no two ways about this. Without defining what is neo-colonial, examples will help us at the end know what is it. And so we candidly say neo-colonial is our economy, firstly, because the structure of the economy is largely dependent on a mono cash crop, Cocoa. The economy is not diversified. Other products exist but remain on the periphery whiles a lot are imported. The recent discovery of oil reveals that its shared formula has largely been a foreign controlled one. Inputs of production are largely imported and consumption is heavily dependent on import commodities.

Secondly, the economy as a neo-colonial economy means that large capital formation and flow is in the hands of foreign private and multinational corporations. The Banking, Telecom, Mining and Light industries are dominated by shareholders who are not nationals but hold allegiance to metropolitan economies.

Thirdly, there is low productivity in this country. Records revealed in studies of the economy of Ghana – check Walter Birmingham, and E.N. Omaboe on ” A Study of Contemporary Ghana: The Economy of Ghana”, where they provided vivid analysis on economic data compiled from 1957 to 1964 indicating that Ghana, since 1963, has not recorded high productivity relative to the World Economy.

Fourthly, it is a neo-colonial economy because key policies, as a country, are imposed and dictated by Briton Woods Institutions and donor-agencies of developed economies such as USAID, DANIDA, SNV, etc.. For instance, the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), PAMSCAD, Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (I)(II), Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy, IMF External Credit Programme, etc, are all engineered, imposed and financed by outsiders.

Lastly, our economy is neo-colonial because production in Ghana is centred on Capitalist thinking, which is to extract surplus value from the labour of others and at the end pay wages that not commensurate with labour expended in the production process. Excessive capital is therefore accumulated in this process as a result of the alienation of capital from labour. This mechanical framework governs all production in Ghana and has therefore rendered millions of people jobless, poor and sick.

Our conversation should centre around some of these issues. They should shape our choices when it comes to political decisions. I suppose my opinion will be useful to the soon-to-be movement, PDM, which will be announced on the 28th September 2018 at the International Press Centre. I wish them well!