A professor of finance and economics at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Prof Godfred Bokpin, has said Ghana has deviated from its policy on aid, acting contrary to the principles outlined in the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ charter.
He has thus criticised the government for its lack of understanding of the economy, and its ineffective utilisation of natural resources, resulting in counterproductive policies and practices.
According to Prof Bokpin, the Ghana Beyond Aid chapter is neither an anti-aid document nor a straightforward aid document.
Instead, it seeks to direct aid towards the nation’s developmental goals. However, despite the lofty aspirations encapsulated in the Ghana Beyond Aid vision, the country has shown an unwillingness to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve these goals.
Prof Bokpin’s assertion comes after the Member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, Lord Paul Boateng in his keynote speech at a leadership lecture at the UPSA in Accra, said it is time Ghana moves away from reliance on foreign aid.
Lord Boateng indicated that the country will not experience any significant growth since the dependence on external aid hinders progress.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, Prof Bokpin said, “In fact, there is something wonderful in that Ghana Beyond Aid chapter, it’s about prosperous, and I’m quoting from the document, and safe confidence Ghana that is in charge of her destiny, a transparency Ghana that is prosperous enough to be beyond needing aid and that engages competitively with the rest of the world through trade and investment.
He further explained, “Ghana beyond aid, again from the document, is therefore a national and non-partisan call to harness effectively our resources and deploy them effectively and efficiently for rapid economic and social transformation.
Prof Bokpin highlighted the detrimental impact of illegal mining, known locally as galamsey, on the country, saying, “Because of galamsey, Ghana is in a very bad situation and losing, not even to talk about the distraction to the forest and water bodies which threatened our common future.
He said, “If we had a serious government with the proper understanding of the concept of an economy and harnessing our natural resources for the common good, we would not allow illegal mining to persist.”
He emphasised that Ghana is losing billions of dollars and substantial tax revenue due to illegal mining activities.
He also warned that in the next decade, the country might have to consider importing water due to the environmental damage caused.
Nonetheless, Prof Bokpin acknowledged the crucial role that aid has played in Ghana’s development over the decades. “I mean from the 70s, 80s, 90s, if you examine the literature you will see the critical role that aid has played, but the discussion now and the reason why the call to look beyond aid is right, is that aid itself is no longer reliable and it’s not there.
“Aid is not there sustainably, it’s quite volatile, and there is donor fatigue. Even though Ghana is considered to be a donor-dialing country, aid to Ghana has been going down” he concluded.
