Is Ghana poor without options?

A couple of weeks ago, the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyin,  did not mince words when he was reported to have remarked that Ghana used to be a poor country with opportunity but the status had changed dramatically and now, ‘Ghana is poor without options’.

He said this as part of his closing remarks during the Excellence Awards ceremony of the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana, where he was the Chairman for the occasion. 

As someone with so much optimism in life, I not only find Okyenhene’s remarks intriguing, I also find them thought provoking.  Is Ghana really poor without options?

We definitely live in challenging times as Ghanaians.  Basic necessities are not within the easy reach of a greater majority.  So, yes, we are poor.  One does not need to be told to realise what people are going through in order to put food on the table for their families.    

As an optimist, however, the local saying that ‘kafo didi’, meaning the debtor has a right to eat, makes me believe that no matter the level of our poverty today, the Ghanaian has not lost out.  We still have countless options,  as well as opportunities if only we could pull ourselves together. 

As I see it, our deprivation is to a larger extent self-imposed and self-induced.  We have for example allowed foreigners, fronted by Ghanaians, to take over retail trading.  Yet, the dos and don’ts of retail trading are explicitly spelt out in the laws of the country.  We have done the same harm to our environment and had our sources of drinking water muddied through illegal mining.

We have men and women trained locally and all over the world, who can manage our resources and our economy.  Yet, still in that dependency mode inflicted on us from colonial times, we have mortgaged our rich resources and our politicians pile up loans which continue to lead us into servitude.  

The debts being accrued could enslave not only our generation but may have repercussions for our children and grandchildren.   

However, for as long as we continue to have all the rich natural resources, Ghana has the option to move from poverty to riches.  We need the boldness, commitment and selflessness of our politicians and leaders to see beyond the tricks of those who come with promises of reforms and structural adjustments which make us even poorer.  

Our poverty status should give us the impetus to expose and shame the inept, selfish and greedy leaders whose game is to deplete our resources, enrich themselves and their cronies, sell our ‘birth-rights’ and leave the majority deprived.   

I see the new Ghanaian rise up to that task. We see it in the gusto of the Occupy Ghana protestors.  We see it in the vigilante groups who are testing and challenging issues at the courts and the pockets of whistle-blowers who are helping to unravel misdeeds in communities.

For as long as the sun continues to shine on us,  we can envision some light at the end of the tunnel.   We still have our prospects in oil and gas and did I not hear, not long ago,  that there is some more oil to be tapped near Cape Three Point?   

Ghana’s cocoa is still premium for chocolate producers in the West.  Our gold and other minerals are not yet depleted from underneath our soil, the last time we checked.  Our forests are perpetually green,  serving as reminders that we can grow, harvest bountifully and feed our people without depending on food from elsewhere.

Our beaches are still golden except that we continue to be our own enemies, polluting such beaches with our bad practices and habits.  Otherwise, we have beautiful beaches to promote tourism, a major foreign exchange earner.  

We have a disposition and attitude which virtually says that no matter what, we are still a happy people.  No matter how poor and the level of our deprivation, and no matter how limited our options, the Ghanaian still finds time to dress up and attend social gatherings.  The Ghanaian continues to give thanks and would not miss going to church to worship, sing and dance to God’s glory.  

Poverty, yes, we have our fair share of it.  But the good thing is that with some commitment and all the resources nature has blessed us with, there is still hope for the Ghanaian to drift out of poverty.  The opportunities are still there and so are the options.

vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com