“Politics is too important to be left to politicians alone.”—Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General.
For many years now, I have been concerned about the plunder and pillage, the open thievery, looting and exploitation of our natural resources by the foreigners in the name of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). I don’t know whether our elected leaders are really aware of that. That attachments below support my point.
Between January 2014 and December 2016, Ghana lost about $10.6 billion in gold smuggling alone. No one accounted for diamond. Manganese, timber, etc.
Between January 2011 and December 2016, Ghana lost over $6 billion because we signed very bad and retrogressive oil contracts with the so-called foreign investors. Vini Vidi Vinci.
In this 21st Century, where countries are deriving full benefits and having enough money from their resources to develop their countries and create opportunities for the citizens to have some good life, Ghana has become the El Dorado where these foreigners come and loot us in the public glare. My heart bleeds for this beautiful country. Leadership has failed us big time. Laws have not worked an iota. Institutions have become almost dead. The country has become an open field where all kinds of people from all over the world are rushing to cash on free booty and go free. Is that how we administer and manage a country’s resources?
After we have done that big harm to ourselves, our leaders will tell us there is no money in the coffers of the country. Our statal and parastatal institutions have not received their statutory allocation to function. MMDAs are in arrears, NHIS is almost collapsing if not collapsed. Hospitals are not having enough supplies of medicines and have almost reverted to the old Cash and Carry system. In the midst of all these, our leaders are not even ashamed. They go abroad with cups in hands looking for crumbs and handouts in the form of grants, aids and loans. The new trend now is to go raise money from international market in the name of bonds and Eurobond with its attendant long-term implications on the economy, while in our own soil billions of dollars of our resources are being looted by foreigners.
The West, which is the greatest culprit and accomplice in all this, will be doling out our own money that they looted through their multinational companies and empires spread all over Africa which are raping, plundering and pillaging African resources. Every year all these Western conglomerates take more from Africa than they bring in.
It really pains me to see poverty in Ghana and Africa. A country/continent so endowed that it can take everyone from poverty and make every citizen a first class citizen. But what do we see today. We are called a middle income country with third world characteristics. Formerly, we went HIPC, but now we are going HIMIC, Highly Indebted Middle Income Country.
Who will save us? A new crop of LEADERS born from 1970s who have two types of education: Personal Afrocentric type of education and modern leadership and governance knowledge based on problem-solving rather than being a position- occupancy. These two things, when well combined, can do the trick for Ghana and Africa. Are you ready for that wave of leadership in Africa? I am ready. Hope you are too.
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