Ishmael Yamson & Associates Business Roundtable Magazine Edition 2

THE 4TH HORIZON OF GHANA'S GROWTH

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Editor's Note

THE 4TH HORIZON OF GHANA'S GROWTH

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we have been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama

At Ishmael Yamson & Associates, we take

immense pride in hosng the annual Business Roundtable ‒ it is our way of making a meaningful impact and driving posive changeinourcountryandtheAfricanconnent.

Building the content for this magazine was quite a seamless process as we had a clear understanding of the message we intended to convey to readers. The magazine is enriched by the contribuons of trailblazerswhohavesharedexceponalinsights.

In recent years, our economy has encountered numerous challenges that are obvious to everyone. As argued by many, Ghana possesses an abundance of natural resources that have been touted as sufficient to help the country meet its needs Leaders have over the years also aempted strategic efforts to capitalize on the potenal of diverseindustriessuchasagribusiness,culture,arts and tourism, and the use of technology Although progress has been made, our ulmate objecve of meeng the needs of the cizens and providing themwithbasicneedsremainsawork-in-progress.

Whatcouldbethereasonforthesetback?

BUILDINGASUSTAINABLEECONOMY

We have failed as a country to establish sustainable iniaves that are able to endure in the long run. Countless promising iniaves have fallen through the cracks over the years, oen due to changes in government and other unforeseen circumstances.

As the world finds itself in unprecedented mes, there is a crucial need to build a more sustainable economy

AGRIBUSINESS AS THE LIFE OF GHANA'S ECONOMY.

Agriculture has long been the backbone of Ghana's economy, accounng for a significant poron of employment and contribung to food security Its importancecanthereforenot beoverstated.Ghana can capture more value within the value chain by processing agricultural products and promong agro-industrial acvies The promoon of sustainable farming pracces and the adopon of technology in agriculture can also contribute to environmental sustainability and resilience in the faceofclimatechange.

By adopng modern agricultural pracces, improving access to finance and markets, and supporng small-scale farmers, we are confident thatGhanacanboostitseconomicproducvity.

LEVERAGING THE AFRICAN HERITAGE TO CREATE WEALTH.

Ghana is now able to aract a growing number of internaonal tourists This not only generates revenue but also creates employment opportunies, parcularly in the hospitality and creavesectors‒anindicaonthatourrichcultural

heritage presents a wealth of opportunies for economic growth, job creaonandenhancingthecountry'simageontheglobalstage.

Investments in infrastructure, coupled with effecve markeng strategies, can showcase the beauty and diversity of Ghana's cultural tapestry Collaboraons between the public and private sectors, as well as engagement with local communies, are similarly key to harnessing the potenal of our African heritage and transforming it into sustainablewealthcreaon.

LEVERAGING ICTTOMAXIMISEOUTCOME.

Technology has become an indispensable tool for driving economic growth and development, and our tech sector connues to show promising growth. From improving access to educaon and healthcare to enhancing efficiency in governance and business operaons, ICT plays a transformave role in shaping the economy Access to affordable internet connecvity and the development of digital skills are therefore crical in ensuring that all segments of society can parcipateinthedigitalrevoluon.

Ghana can unlock immense potenal across various sectors by harnessing the power of Informaon and Communicaon Technology (ICT). We need to therefore create an enabling environment that encourages innovaon and entrepreneurship in the tech sector to fosterthegrowthoflocaltalentandaractmoreforeigninvestments.

In conclusion the adopon of ICT, leveraging Ghana's African heritage, and priorizing agribusiness are key strategies for building a sustainable economy By expanding internet access, fostering innovaon in the tech sector, promong tourism, and invesng in agribusiness, Ghana can achieve economic diversificaon, create employment opportunies, and improve the overall well-being of its cizens. These efforts will contribute to Ghana's development goals and posion the country as a leader in sustainable economic growth in Africa. Let us seize this opportunity to be the change we seek and drive posivetransformaonforgeneraonstocome.

by Winnifred Adjei-Mireku & Juliana Essel Ackom

ISHMAEL YAMSON & ASSOCIATES

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GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP & WEALTH CREATION

In 2014, when we first launched the Ishmael Yamson & Associates Business Roundtable, our purpose was to help develop strong foundaons on which to build much more robust economies in Ghana and Africa We decided therefore to focus on issues of economic growth, governance, and leadership, and how these must drive and shape Ghana's efforts towards building a fast growing, sustainable and resilient framework for wealth creaon, especially as Ghana had discovered oil and begun producing crude oil and gas in commercial quanes in 2011. Suddenly signs of the Dutch disease were beginningtoemerge,andthatwasaworrytous.

In the fourteen (14) years since 2010 Ghana's economic growth has been inconsistent, with high growth rates between 2010 and 2013, low growth rates between 2014 and 2016, high growth rates in 2017 and 2018, a crash to 0.51% growth in 2020 following the covid-19 disrupons, a recovery in 2021 of 5.36% and a sharp decline in 2022 to 3.5%. The forecast for 2023is1.5%.

This clearly is an economy without resilience and sustainability It is an economy which is overly dependent on a very narrow commodity export base but highly import driven, oen dried around by global economic developments. Sadly, for instance, even with Ghana's enormous arable land, the country is the most dependent on food importsinAfrica.

To my mind, two factors have accounted for this dismal and inconsistent economic performance;

poor governance and leadership without conscienceandpurpose.

Issues of leadership and governance in Ghana have been discussed extensively because of the impact they have had on the performance of the economy and the country's ability to create wealth on a widespread basis. The only period that Ghana has witnessed real economic transformaon was under the leadership of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who had a clear purpose to build an industrial economy, a clear agenda to build Ghana's economic and social infrastructure and a clear understanding of how to build resilience and sustainability into Ghana's economy And he was in power for only nine (9) years!

While the disrupve military intervenons of the 60s, 70s and 80s created major setbacks for the

DR. ISHMAEL YAMSON CHAIRMAN, ISHMAEL YAMSON & ASSOCIATES

economy, it is even more true that poor governance and poor leadership have aggravated the difficules facing the Ghanaian economy. There is no administraon that has not been accused of serious economic mismanagement, greed, and corrupon And regreably our democracy has itself become a vicm of the greed and corrupon that have captured our leadershipinGhana.

The recent report- Understanding How Dirty Money Fuels Campaign Funding in Ghana- An Exploratory Study, Commission by Adam Smith Internaonal and prepared by William Nyarko and Kojo Pumpuni Asante of CDD- Ghana, clearly demonstrates how Ghana's polics has been captured by dirty money and excluded many capable and visionary young people from acvely parcipang in the polics of the country This is due to the prohibive cost of running for public office as the young men and women are normally unable to raise those funds. The example of the destrucon caused by State-capture in South Africa, should make it clear to Ghanaians that any f o r m o f c a p t u r e i s d a n g e r o u s a n d counterproducve, and we must as a naon fight it.

Aer sixty-six (66) years of independence from colonial rule, which we oen blame as the cause of our backwardness and lack of development, Ghana is currently a highly and unsustainably indebted and poor country Many thousands of educated and capable young men and women

cannot find jobs and are leaving our shores in drovesforhopeelsewhere,hopetheycannotfind inGhana.

Governance and government are meaningless if they do not create growth. Good governance and good leadership cannot be separated from Ghana's effort to create a wealthy, prosperous country The two are inseparable, and Ghana must make every effort to embed them in its governanceculture.

But even in the midst of this deep crisis, I believe that a return to prudent economic management, an embrace of good governance, and aggressive fight against greed and corrupon are possible. What remains is our ability and determinaon as a people to reject purposeless and rudderless leadership and elect leaders who can perform and who have integrity to lead our economic and socialtransformaon.

The Ishmael Yamson & Associates Business Roundtable started this Journey ten (10) years ago and it is our intenon to connue on this path. We therefore invite you to join us, as Ghana embarks on a new journey to create an enabling economic and social environment in which its cizens are empowered and feel proud to be Ghanaians.

Dr.IshmaelYamson May,2023

OF GHANA'S GROWTH

This presentaon on Wealth Creaon as the 4thHorizon forGhana's Growthisintended to seed a review of the opons Ghana has to create an economic transformaon and interrogate some ideas and opons best suited fo r t h e r e c o v e r y, d e v e l o p m e n t a n d transformaon of Ghana's economy. A transformaon that moves finance, people, jobs in selected sectors from low to high producvity andasustainedresilientgrowthtrajectory.

We have always assumed that if we produce more, we will earn more revenue and with more revenue, be able to look aer our economy and cizens much beer. But the proof of 66 years of

MICHAEL HARRY YAMSON MANAGING PARTNER, IY&A

independence is that more revenue does not necessarily lead to sustainable development that creates resilient wealth The queson then becomes why we have allowed this false paradigm - that revenue equals development equalswealth-tostandforsolong.

If we look at agriculture in the last seven decades, we have paid much aenon to producon. However, private and public investments in technology, related sciences, agriproduct branding, commercialising value-added agriproducts, and developing global markets for the services and know-how built through the agriculture and agribusiness value chains, have been insignificant and not sustained Consequently, agribusiness remains a daunng exercise and therefore a low priority in allocang resources.Thisisinstarkcontrasttothestrategies successfully employed by Thailand, Indonesia, VietnamandMalaysiawhousedagriproductsand tourism to power economic transformaons

Largely, revenues from cocoa exports, for example, have not gone into creang new industries, rather, apart from the allocaons to scholarships, , the billions of dollars Ghana has earned from exporng cocoa have been spent paying for recurrent expenditure and in some cases on bare-faced corrupon. Lile wonder that the sector has failed to drive Ghana's development.

Where do we find new ways to create industries from the agricultural supply chains, in plantaons, in storage, in value addion, in branding, markeng our food to the rest of the world and export market development? These have the potenal to turn revenue into new industry-building investments that generate stable, beer-paid jobs and medium-term wealth. Though mature, agribusiness could sll be a source of long-term wealth. It is possible to maximise the residual value, earn significant surpluses and seed long-term growth in new industries.

The story of our heritage and creave industries is not much different. Revenues are mostly spent on low-value-adding acvies, employing few people in the sector and maintaining structures. Very lile has been invested in creave industries that help us tell our story beer to a global audience and generate profits in the process. I giveyoutheexampleofTheLionKing.Thestoryof Lion King originates from Southern Africa. Yet the story has been told to a global audience and commercialised by Hollywood. Hollywood has earned billions from films, merchandise, games, theatre products, and animaons Southern Africa saw lile of that money and the creators of the theme song earned no royales. So, what stories do we have that we can tell beer using different formats that can fetch us billions in revenues beyond inving people to visit Ghana? We can create new industries allied to the original baseheritageandcreaveeconomy.

Now considering ICT, Ghana sits in the West African sub-region where we sll have one of the best educaonal systems. We have the potenal to leverage the brain power of our academia and students, parcularly in the relavely new areas

of ICT and technology. Yet, students from across the region who graduate from places like Ashesi University, having developed ICT and technology soluons for Africa and the world, leave yearly without the opportunity to register and build their ideas into businesses in Ghana. Today, we are dependent on soluons created outside our region based on the needs of other sociees and cultures. All governments have overtaxed and inhibited the growth of ICT and technology industries rather than incubang technology firms and ICT soluons relevant to the needs of our market, the daily realies of our cizens and solving global problems. It will be beer to untax technology and demand that firms heavily reinvest their profits to smulate new technology industries.

WhyFocusonWealthCreaon?

My view is that rather than pursue revenue as an end in itself, it is even more important to decide how we will invest revenue in new spheres of high-value enterprise to generate stable, highquality revenue streams that bring resilience to the economy I agree with the view that Wealth Creaon means a sustainable acquision and accumulaon of resources to compevely generate relevant output and financial flows to aain naonal development goals that fulfil the needs of cizens without compromising the ability of future generaons to meet their own needsii. This sort of Wealth Creaon indelibly improvesthequalityoflifeforallcizens.

Post-pandemic and debt default, there is an openingtoresettheeconomy.

Embracing Wealth Creaon as the development model for Ghana is right for many reasons, includingtherecognionthat:

1. the days of one-size-fits-all soluons and exporng unprocessed cocoa, metals and fish; and lile processed and illegal mber are no longer viable in the new global economic p a ra d i g m G h a n a s h o u l d e m b ra c e differenated paths to its wealth creaon goals and the managers of the economy must implement customised wealth creaon strategiesforselectedindustries.

2. to remain relevant and compeve in global markets requires a diversified reservoir of intellectual property, patents, innovaon, and value-addionthatis'Made-in-Ghana'.

3. sustainable profits and savings determine the pace of investments in human capital developments and innovaons to create new anchor technologies that will maximise the speed, scale and longevity of economic transformaon.

To paraphrase Dr Seyram Kawor of the UCC, “no country borrows to develop. Borrowingmust only supplement a country's own accumulaon of its own resources and revenues.” Therefore, amid global volality, a fluctuang Cedi, vanishing domesc savings and investments, and emped naonal reserves, we have to step back and urgently

(1) priorise creang resilient wealth with robustbufferstocontainmajorshocks.

(2) determine a new vision for wealth creaon and

(3) decide how to achieve material i m p r o v e m e n t a n d q u a l i t a v e transformaon for the benefit of cizens nowandintothefuture.

Letmeexplainwhy.

CHANGEISUPONUS:OPPORTUNITIESABOUND

As in Africa and the developing world, Ghana's economy straddles centuries of economic revoluon from the mechanisaon of agriculture, the development of industry, the rise of services, and the knowledge economy powered by communicaons, arficial intelligence, nanotechnology and biosciences Ghana's economy is integrated with the global economy through global trade and financial markets and the intertwining of our economy with these powerful economic systems opens up new opportunies for growth and wealth creaon. Ghana has an opportunity in the coming decades to harmonise all four revoluons to accelerate economic transformaon and wealth creaon. There is no beer me than now when we have been presented with the “historic opportunity to

dosowiththeAfricaFreeTradeConnentalArea” toquotetheWorldBank.

CHANGEISUPONUS:DOMESTICDISLOCATIONS

On the other hand, we have all witnessed worldwide economic disrupons since 2020, and the slide of Ghana's economy into an unprecedented economic abyss that we are beginning to understand began as early as 2018. The ongoing collapse and uncertainty generated connue to spook financial markets, slow investment and ulmately economic acvity into the medium term Perversely, if the global recovery connues to strengthen and as policies to frame the new global economic order are normalised, an emerging economy such as Ghana, can expect the process to expose its economy to external shocks and adverse spillovers, even as we strive to remain a viable player in key global economic systems – unless we build a more robust economy Just as Winston Churchill advised, we should not waste this crisis. Itisanopportunitytoremodeltheeconomy.

CHANGEISUPONUS:FUTUREDEVELOPMENTS

Three major developments are predicted between now and 2040 in the November 2021 World Bank Country Economic Memorandum tled Ghana Rising: Accelerang Economic Transformaon and Creang Jobs; (a) Ghana's populaon will rise to 45 million (b) six in every ten people will be less than 30 years old, and (c) about 10 million young Ghanaians will join the labour force and must be gainfully engaged. It notes that "Ghana faces an acute challenge of generang more and beer jobs and has a 'missing middle' of employment in midproducvity sectors". However, all is not lost. The report further acknowledged that Ghana has all it takes to connue being an economic development star if it takes the right steps to nurture growth and job creaon despite the debilitang effect of the pandemic. And I will add even more crically restoring prudent economic management. Specifically, the World Bank highlighted;

(1) macroeconomicstability,

(2) financialsectordevelopment,

(3) technologicaltransformaon,

(4) fosteringgreaterglobalintegraon, and I will addasakeypoint,

(5) restoring a robust governance architecture to underpinthefourpriories

AWALKDOWNMEMORYLANE

In the Post-World War II process of wealth creaon, sub- Saharan Africa along with parts of the Middle East, the former Communist-Socialist bloc and Lan America lost ground in various degrees to the winners like France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and then, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Chinaiii. Some heavily-endowed naons and regions mismanaged their blessingsiv whilst countries with precious lile became adept at sustainably acquiring and accumulang resources and improving the lives of their people indelibly We know where Ghana fits in this picture.

Let us step briefly into 1957 to hear Victor Adams' describe the hope and opmism for a beer future when church bells rang across the city of Accra to signal the birth of modern Ghana, to the e-newsleer UN Africa Renewal. He was in his home village of Shiashi, a suburb of the Ghanaian capital. Shiashi had no electricity, roads or piped water There were only eight mud houses in the enre village. Shiashi and its surrounding areas have since been transformed but signs of underdevelopment sll abound, including poor sanitaon, unpaved roads and makeshi homes. In a way, the story of Shiashi reflects Ghana's uneven economic and social development over the years. A middle school student at the me of independence, Mr Adams said, "Our country could have done beer." Many Ghanaians share thatsenment.

Ghana requires a new economic model to translate resources and revenues into resilient WealthCreaon.

Ghana cannot create wealth by just earning more money If that were untrue we would be rich from over 100 years of cocoa, bauxite and gold exports alone. The economy needs a new paradigm where we consciously reserve porons of our

earnings to invest in a connuous process of resource accumulaon designed to create parallel streams of income through private industry and human capital investments. It cannot be a short-term acvity Secondly, wealth creaon should have a clear intent to generate and distribute opportunies across all stages of priorised value chains. This clarity is crucial for the quality of outcomes from the allocaons of resources:

(1) for human and capital investments to produceabiggereconomy,

(2) to transform Ghana into a technology and innovaon-driveneconomy

(3) tosupportdomescindustrialgrowth,and

(4) tosustain,resilientlong-termGDPgrowth. Ghana as a developing country ought to be aggressive about developing opportunies through policy-making to aract investments We must support innovaon and producvity soluons that will enable the economy to generate wealth by aracng the spending and investments of both local and global consumers and investors. The “if we build it, they will come” approach of the Emirates is proof posive of the success of pursuing wealth creaon as a naonal objecve.

For too long greed and corrupon, self-interest, polical longevity, the desire for aggrandising , power and social relevance have been the main obstacles undermining wealth creaon in Ghana. These movaons end with the erosion of the well-being of cizens. Unfortunately, commentary on intangible sources of wealth like the environment, innovaon, intellectual assets, social order etcetera are underplayed and remain elusive in economic and sociological literature. And we dare not look to naonal glory and honour for inspiraon. Yet, these are what should strengthen the extent to which we produce sustainedeconomicwealthandgrowth.

The Alchemy of Growth - The Three Horizons of Growth

Somemes being a late bloomer has its advantages. Once the consensus bakes in, Ghana

will have a fresh canvas on which to define how to straddle the economic revoluons in agriculture, industry, services and the new knowledge industriesandvaluechains.

(1) The first horizon should aim to shi the core of naonal revenues to agribusiness by rapidly expanding the scale, quality and performance of derivave industries that either add value to or innovate around previously raw or lightly processed agricultural products. It should shi targeted investments to increase their efficiency and producvity. The same logic should apply to value-added cultural exports, tourism productsandotherbasicexports.

(2) The second horizon is the phase for selecng and resourcing emerging technological and innovaonindustrieswhichshouldbeatthe core of the New Ghana economy. A successful strategy will create self-funding growth from entrepreneurial ventures that will generate substanal broad and longterm economic opportunies very quickly in thetransformaoncycle.

The transion to technology and innovaon driven industries requires three major shis in culture,mind-setandfocusasfollows:

● THESHIFTINCULTURE

Ÿ SharetheVisionandCultureoftheFuture

Ÿ Clearly define the strategic direcon of the economy and society and get everyone deeply movated by and commied to the journey to transformlives;notjustchangelifestyles.

Ÿ Highlight the new naonal values and end the culture of seeing the naon's tolerance for mediocre leaders as infinite and embrace a meritocracy Demand changed behaviours to undergird the transformaon agenda in terms of personal responsibility and being accountable.

Ÿ Build the right habits to be a self-sufficient economy. Emphasise sound economic principles such as moderang consumerism and disciplined work-ethic, building compeve advantage across industries, low

debt,andbuyingMade-in-Ghana.

● THE SHIFT IN MIND-SET – STEP OUT. STAND OUT

Ÿ Develop Ghana Inc. as an economic philosophy founded on discipline, keeping high standards, andintegrity;theproteconofindividualrights, property rights, and the environment; and the supremacyoftheruleoflaw.

Ÿ Build ecosystems to promote trade and relaonships that reinforce our development andgrowthplans.

Ÿ Intensify partnerships in markets and knowledge that enable the economy to ulise natural and human resources more efficiently andeffecvelythanbefore.

Ÿ Break from the socioeconomic and polical norms in the African region. Arculate a bold, standout vision about what life, work and leisureintheNewGhanaeconomywillbelike.

● THE SHIFT TO FOCUS – PRIORITISE INVESTMENTS

Ÿ Increase the savings rate in the economy and make generaonal investments in mulple, long-term income flows; and break the false beliefthatfinancialsuccessispossiblewithouta disciplined focus on raising the rates of savings, (re)invesng, and increasing the levels of financial literacy and business skills. Ergo, put wealth creaon above borrowing and creang unsustainabledebt.

Ÿ Concentrate government spending on naonal priories and human resources founded on broad consensus, not polical iniaves and schemes that drive the cost of government but do not create value; do not waste naonal resources on short-term projects and conspicuousconsumponingovernment.

Ÿ Decide more strategically, whose money to use for what. Leverage the geopolics of today Blend the resources of private investors with those of emerging economies, the IMF and World Bank, China, India and the West in seeking financing to invest in skills, physical infrastructure, and business development LearntoGAMEandstopbeingPLAYERS.

(3) The third and farthest-looking horizon of wealth creaon, targets how to elongate long-term growth by leveraging exploratory investmentsinR&D;anddeployingstrategies and technologies to establish new agribusinesses, creave, heritage, knowledge and technological industries to secure five long-term fundamentals in the NewGhanaeconomy,namely:

1. Job creaon through the radical transformaon of the core sectors and transioning of labour with new skills into new industries with higher producvity –especially innovaon, ICT and business services. These more socially and geographically mobile workers also expand domesc trade, urbanisaon, and connecvity.

2. Producvity growth, intensified innovaon and entrepreneurship rates through domesc firms' adopon of digital and complementary technologies to accelerate the economic transformaon. To enable this change, The New Ghana will require r a d i c a l l y i m p r o v e d m i c r o - l e v e l infrastructure, internet connecvity and investmentsinawiderangeofdigitalskillsto facilitatetechnologyadoponbyfirms.

3. Inclusive private sector development that leverages domesc savings and financial resources to facilitate technology adopon, innovaonandtheexpansionoflocalfirms.

4 Macro and fiscal stability, beer natural resource management and smart, broadbased revenue mobilisaon to generate revenues to fund reforms and economic transformaon.

5. Long-term inclusive growth that incenvises sustainable exploitaon of natural resources, protects the environment and minimises the impactofclimatechangeonhouseholds.

LEADERSHIPISEVERYTHING

Leadership isindeedacrucialfactorinthesuccess anddevelopmentofanycountry,Ghanaincluded. It inspires and unites people, drives progress and economic growth, and makes posive changes in

the lives of cizens happen. The underpinnings of Leadership are the Values of leaders that play a crucial role in determining the success of any country's efforts towards wealth creaon. The values held by Ghanaian leaders will significantly impact the country's economic growth, job creaon, and development. For Ghana to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth, its leaders must exorcise the wicked torments of mismanagement, corrupon and greed; and priorise core values, the most needed of which are:

VALUES

1. Integrity: the self-confidence to act with honesty and transparency in all their dealings, whether in public or private sector roles to build trust and credibility with cizens,investors,andotherstakeholders.

2. Accountability: the humility to take responsibility for their acons and answer to the people they serve. This means being willing to submit to tough quesons, admit mistakes, and take correcve acon to securethefuture.

ATTITUDES

3. Innovaon:theforethought,ancipaon,and adaptaon we somemes describe as being visionary Add to that, invesng in research and development, entrepreneurship, and the passion to promote creavity that changes lives in all aspects of society and all sectors of the economy. This ecosystem enables innovaon, start-ups, and small businesses to thrive.

BEHAVIOURS

4. Discipline: respect for the new social norms, therule-oflawandarespectforme.

5. Inclusivity: invesng in educaon and training for all cizens to ensure fair access to the benefits from economic growth for all segments of society; promong gender equality, and creang employment opportuniesformarginalisedgroups.

6 Sustainability: priorising resilience from sustainable development pracces,

protecng natural resources, invesng in renewable and green energy and the longterm aspects of economic growth, when considering the impact of any policy on the environment, future generaons, and social cohesion. We cannot build sustainability in the New Ghana economy without building resilience in finance, supply chains, human capital,andbusinessmodels.

I set out to address five core areas that are crical for us to address and interrogate as we plan to move the Ghanaian economy from the chronic crises periphery of global economic and trade systemstowardsthecoreasfollows:

1. ending the false paradigm - that revenue equalsdevelopmentequalswealth

2. selecng and invesng in new high-value enterprise that bring resilience to the economy

3. building savings to invest in private industry and human capital to create parallel streams of income, resource accumulaon and investments

4 defining how to straddle the economic revoluons in agriculture, industry, services andknowledgeindustries,and

5. the importance of leadership values, atudes and behaviours as the core underpinning for thechange.

CERTAINLY,ALLISNOTLOST.

Wealth creaon as the 4th Horizon of Ghana's Development is a viable, credible economic objecve and I recommend further discourse on this.

Thank you.

LEVERAGING AGRIBUSINESS

AS MEANS OF WEALTH CREATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA

Agriculture has long been recognized as a key driver of economic development in developing countries. In Ghana, agriculture accounts for approximately 19% of the country's GDP and employs over half of the populaon. Given the large proporon of people dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, every government since independence has tried to leverage the sector's potenal for job and wealth creaon. Evidence of economic growth opportunies offered by the sector are numerous. Ghana has over 18.9m hectares of arable land, including around 5,000 square km of largely unexploited land in the Afram plains, and 148 billion cubic metres of water in Lake Volta alone. We have a youthful populaon imbued with an incomparable entrepreneurial spirit for starng and growing businesses. We are also blessed with a young and growing populaon whose demand for food presents a lucrave market for food producers in other countries, a fact proven by Ghana's annual importaon of around $2 billion of food. Last, but not least, we also have products like shea nuts and cocoa for which we have natural comparave advantage and to which we should be adding more value to boost our local economy. Fundamentally, a two-pronged strategy that focuses on selected import substuon and value addion to local products (both for exports and local consumpon) could form the core of Ghana's agriculture-driven wealth creaon strategy

Let us first consider import substuon. According to the Ministry of Finance, Ghana imports an average $2 1 billion of food annually To delve a bit further into these numbers, here are some results from FAOSTAT for 2019 imports on two products that I think Ghana shouldNOTbeimporng:

1. Poultry (Broilers): 213,526 metric tons (esmated

2 value$308m )

2. Rice: 760,132 metric tons (esmated value

3$423m )

Now consider the case of chicken broiler meat; my personal bug bear but also my favourite candidate for wealth creaon by import substuon. The chicken we eat is essenally the result of converng mainly maize and soy into meat (for simplicity let us ignore other inputs). Doing this efficiently involves several actorsinarelavelylongvaluechainthatincludes:

1. the producon of high-quality maize and soy seeds (requires R&D, seed producon farms, agriculture extension officers, cold storage, logiscsandtransportservices;

2. Primary producon of maize and soy, condioning and storage, trading by middlemen andontheGhanaCommodityExchange

3. Processing of maize and soy into feed for broilers andlayers

4. Producon of hatching eggs and day-old chicks andtheassociatedresearchanddevelopment

5. Poultry farms to raise the birds for slaughter; abaoirs for slaughter, meat processing companies to dress, butcher and package the meat for onward distribuon to cold stores and retailoutlets.

JERRY PARKES, Managing Director Injaro Investment Advisors Limited; April 2023

All these stages require local employees across several educaonal levels in both urban and rural areas. In fact, analysis carried out a few years ago by the Injaro team esmated that around 800,000 jobs would be created or sustained if Ghana fully localized broiler producon! Addionally, if the value chain operates at the right scale, the country benefits from avoiding shelling out $300m in foreign exchange yearly while adding over $400 million dollars to the economy A similaranalysisofthericesectorwouldalsoshowclear benefits, albeit with fewer actors along the value chain.

With all these evidence of the potenal benefits, why have our governments failed to substute poultry or rice imports aer all these years? We will come back to thisquesonlater

There are many who would argue that import substuon goes against the concept of each country focusing on areas where it has a comparave advantage. In the light of the subsidies enjoyed by farmers in many of the food exporng countries, I queson whether an applicaon of this concept is intrinsically fair to countries like ours where farmers receiveverylilesupporttoboostproducon.

This notwithstanding, any country seeking to create wealth through agribusiness should also seek to fully exploit products for which it has a natural compeve advantage. Ghana has a compeve advantage both for export-oriented cash crops (e.g. cocoa, shea and fresh fruits) and for locally consumed products (such as derivaves of cassava, plantain, yam) whose demand is expected to grow with the populaon and also modify as urban lifestyles and consumer preferencesevolve.

For export-oriented crops, our objecve should primarily be to increasingly add more value in-country so that we can capture more of the economic value for Ghana. For instance, it is a well- known fact that cocoa 4 farmers retain around 6% of the value of a bar of chocolate. This leaves significant economic value on the table. What if we could capture even 15% of the value of a chocolate bar in the cocoa producing countries? Assuming annual exports of $2bn of cocoa beans, scaling up local value addion to capture 10% of the value of chocolate bar would represent an addional $3bn in economic value for Ghana. In these mes of increased climate acon, reducing the carbon footprint of our food could present a strong argument for localizing more stages of chocolate producon within cocoa growing countries. A similar argument could be made for shea buer, which is a key

ingredient within the global $500 billion cosmecs industry Ghana could be more proacve in leveraging theclimateopportunitytoboostitseconomy.

In exploring opportunies to create wealth via agribusiness it is easy to forget one of the more obvious growth opportunies, effecvely targeng the local market We must remember that other countries acvely assess and target Ghana as an export market because they see the potenal presented by a growing, increasingly prosperous and urbanizing populaon. In the light of this we must not ignore the gold mine in our own backyard The evolving tastes of the Ghanaian consumer challenges food processing companies to improve product quality, launch more convenient ready-to-eat meals, see the opportunity in snacking/eang on the go and generally seek ways to deliver value for Ghanaian customers in the same manner that they would target an export market. For instance, many homes in Ghana have migrated to making fufu with flour instead of pounding it the tradional way Convenience and a change in the composion of households have contributed to this shi. Fortunately, there are already several examples of businesses that are acvely sasfying Ghanaian taste buds with high quality products like shitor, plantain chips, roasted groundnuts, coconut chips, gari derivaves, breakfast cereals, cocoa beverages, banku doughs, fufu powder etc. Demand for these staples will connue to expand as the populaon grows and will connue to present a lucraveeconomicopportunityforentrepreneurs.

Whether we are considering import substuon or value addion via processing, there is a central objecve that must be at the centre of our focus if we want to transform inefficient underperforming value chains into engines for economic growth - the acve coordinaon of a structured and supporve economic eco-system that is ghtly linked to consumer markets and designed to achieve profitability for all actors in the value chain by progressivelyincreasingproducvity

This concept is not enrely new Indeed, it has been implemented successfully in Côte d'Ivoire for poultry via a partnership between the government and the associaonofpoultryproducers(IPRAVI)andunderan umbrella programme called PAPAN (Programme, Dáppui A La Producon Avicole). This partnership, signed in 2005, resulted in output more than doubling within four years and the country now has a thriving poultry sector featuring large-scale businesses, like SIPRA, vercally integrated from farm to fork. It is therefore not surprising that in its 2017 report, “Time

for Africa”, Rabobank projected Côte d'Ivoire's poultry sector to grow by 6-10% year-on-year between 2015 and 2025. Nigeria is also implemenng a similar idea for its dairy sector in an effort to substute around $2.5 billion of annual dairy imports. The Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (“ALDDN”) is a private-sector led market driven programme that aims to improve the producvity of rural dairy farmers and help them sell their products profitably in local markets.Itissupportedbyseveralministries,including theFederalMinistryofAgriculture.

Why do I cite these examples? Well, under the hood of these agribusiness growth vehicles is a market led, commercially oriented strategy that Ghana is well posioned to emulate and even improve upon. From studying the examples of our West African siblings one can disl some of the key features of a wealth-creang agribusinessstrategyasfollows:

1. Market-Led: There must be established demand for the crop, livestock or agricultural product being targeted for economic transformaon and wealth creaon. Demand is typically proven by a significant import bill (e.g. poultry in Ghana), significant external value addion (e g cocoa beans / chocolate), or growing and relavely inelasc local demand (e.g. a staple like plantain or cassava). For an export-oriented strategy, a careful analysis of the long-term economic feasibility of forward integraon needs to be completedtoinformsoundgoalseng.

2. Defined Commercial Objecves: Increased producvity must be at the heart of any agribusiness wealth creaon strategy. In the case of Côte d'Ivoire's poultry sector, the government insisted an annual reducon in producer prices as a quid pro quo for sector protecon and financial support.

3. Supported by the Government: Commied longterm support from the government is essenal as such sector transformaons could require

infrastructure investments, tax incenves, temporary protecon of the local industry, subsidies, financial risk migaon, and the ability to harness the resources of development partners to support the central commercial objecve. For instance, Côte d'Ivoire imposed a levy on imported poultry products and used those proceeds to seed a fund that provided capital and loan guarantees to SMEs in the value chain. This typeofstrategicintervenoncanonlybeachieved withanalignedgovernment.

4. Centrally Coordinated and Designed: Whether the transformaon strategy is led by the private sectororbyagovernmentagency,theremustbea central body to co-ordinate all the actors across the value chain and provide advocacy support for the programme. This can be achieved by seng up a board or secretariat with an irrevocable mandate to execute the strategy independently There must also be a clear definion of roles, responsibilies, incenves, deadlines and targets for all pares which must be strictly enforced. The central coordinang body should also act as the single point of contact for all pares seeking to make intervenons within the target sector or value chain This would ensure that all intervenons made, including by any NGOs, are consistent with the objecves of the transformaon strategy. The importance of aligning the numerous development partners with the strategy cannot be over emphasized. Currently, Ghana has several NGOs operang in the country each with its own agriculture strategy and typically implemenng “projects” that (a) barely scrape the p of the iceberg in solving real problems and (b) are oen of such short duraon that what lile impact they make is barely sustainable. I would propose that the government mandate that a percentage of all NGO funding targeng Ghana be paid into the coffers of the central coordinang body to support a very short

list of value chain transformaon iniaves. This, in my view, would result in more sustainable impactforGhana'sagribusinesses.

5. Tailored Financing Soluons: Any long-term transformaon agenda in the agricultural sector must incorporate accessible appropriately priced financing and risk migaon products for each segment of the value chain. Private capital needs to be mobilized alongside government and NGO funding sources to provide the blended financing soluons required to develop the enre value chain. Certain acvies, such as research and development or greenfield primary producon, may not be commercially viable in the short term but are essenal for the long-term success of the enre transformaon programme. The central unitmustfacilitatefinancingofallsegmentsofthe value chain, by deploying tax incenves, loan guarantees (e.g. GIRSAL), first-loss capital and insurance products. This is to ensure that the conveyor that transforms raw materials into value-added products is not jammed at any point duetoalackofcapital.

6. Reporng of Results and Mutual Accountability: The central coordinang unit must ensure regular reporng on the key performance indicators These performance metrics should, in turn, feed into a periodic performance review roundtable where all pares are held accountable for their resultsandtheappropriaterewardsandsancons applied to discourage non-performance on the partofanyvaluechainactor.

It is important to recognize two crical success factors aswepursuewealthcreaonviaagribusiness:

(I) the need for paence and (ii) the need to focus on two or threehighprioritysectors.First,on theneedfor paence,it is a fact that implemenng these strategies takes me, with melines easily spanning more than a decade They also require persistent investment throughout the implementaon period. It is therefore crically important that both of our major polical pares discard their typical games of one-upmanship and commit to implemenng the same consistent strategy for the benefit of the naon Let each government prove its effecveness by the progress made against the independently set KPIs rather than by other measures that may not be consistent with achieving the core goal of substung a certain monetary value of imports or measurably adding economicvaluetoalocalrawmaterialpriortoexport.

Second, focusing our limited financial capital, human resources and geo-polical goodwill on the two or three sectors with the highest potenal for job and wealth creaon is a beer strategy than having a tall list of iniavesand failingto successfullyimplement a single one. I would strongly recommend starng with the poultry value chain and adding on two others, possibly rice and cocoa (for increased value addion). Once we lock in on the sectors, let us focus the majority of our capital and resources on those sectors over a 15-20 year horizon and push for aggressive advancement towards the job and wealth creaon target. If executed right, we will begin to see tangible benefits within five years and cross the sustainability infleconpointbyyear10.

In sum, for a country where more than 70% of rural dwellers rely on agriculture for their livelihood and where many industries rely on agricultural raw materials, there is no doubt that a dynamic agribusinesssector remainsa credibletool for creang wealth and catalyzing economic growth. However, achieving the potenal of the sector requires careful market-led and producvity-based strategies backed by consistent long-term government support. The strategies need to focus on a small number of crops or value chains that yield the greatest economic benefit for the country from the perspecve of reducing naonal demand for hard currency, creaon of jobs across several income brackets, and advancing knowledge-based industrial growth. As a country we need to commit to a long-term effort with a singular focus on commercially sound KPIs that will be pursued consistently across several presidenal mandates and, possibly, under the supervision of different polical pares. Other African countries have been able to execute such strategies successfully. I see no reason whyGhanaianscannotdothesame.

REFERENCES

1 hps://thebonline.com/2022/07/06/essenalfood-imports-hit-us2bn-annually/

2 United States Department of Agriculture's Global Agricultural Informaon Network (GAIN) report for Ghanapublishedin2020

3 According to the United Naons Comtrade database, the value of rice imports into Ghana in 2019 was approximatelyUS$423million.

⁴hps://www fairtrade org uk/farmers-andworkers/cocoa/

SUCCESS THROUGH AGRICULTURE; Resilience Or Brilliance

By Fatima Alimohamed

Agriculture is the backbone of many African

economies, providing employment for a significantpercentageofthepopulaonand contribung significantly to the Gross Domesc Product (GDP) of many countries. Agriculture in Africa is characterized by smallholder farming, which is the predominant form of agriculture across the connent. Despite the challenges associated with smallholder farming, such as low producvity and limited access to markets and financing, it remains a crical source of food and income for millions of African households. As we say in Africa, a farm is a grand teacher It teaches paence and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thri; aboveallitteachesenretrust.

In recent years, there has been a growing recognion of the potenal of Africa's agricultural sector Many African governments, as well as internaonal development partners, are invesng heavily in agriculture to support smallholder farmers and promote sustainable agriculture pracces There are also increasing efforts to leverage new technologies, such as mobile applicaons and precision agriculture, to improve producvity,increaseaccesstomarkets,andreduce foodwaste.

As Vandana Shiva says ' the earth is dying and with her, we humans too are a species in crisis. As we live

and breathe, we face mulple crises, the health pandemic, poverty, hunger, climate change and biodiversity loss. Over and above that there is an emergence of injusces, exclusions, inequality and dispossession. All are rooted in the illusions of superiority over a person or nature'. As a Country and as a Connent, we need to go back to collaboraon over compeon and connecon over separaon. Capitalism has made us forget the art of sharing, especially food. It is becoming a sad reality in the world today that it is illegal in some places to save or even share seeds with your friends for planng Thanks to the heavily commercial industrial agriculture, companies can patent their seeds and dictate how you use them on your farm. Luckily,wehavean opon,and thatisto learnabout the art of saving seeds from your harvest, so that you will not have to rely on expensive, patented seeds that could put you at loggerheads with the law Weneedto

teach our farmers how to improve access to seeds byconservinglocallyadaptedvariees.

Unfortunately the goal of the neocolonialist is to keep Africa as impoverished as is, however what is sadder is that we choose to have a subtle colonialist mindset with the fear that we are not capable to achieve greatness on our own. The division of the African Connent into 54 countries is a subtle way

“ The average person is sll under the aberrant delusion that food should be somebody else's responsibility unl I am ready to eat it.” Joel Salan

to keep us divided and that is the only reason neocolonialism is possible. We can only eradicate this through toiling our own land and soil and feeding each other first and this is where agriculture and agribusiness is at the root of any economic growth.

Our vision as Africa, must be forward looking. Look at the Arab emirates, they took their oil and played such economic polics with it and turned their desserts into financial nerve centers. Germany lost two world wars and were split right in half during the cold war, but see the economy of Germany today, who can remember this even happened. Japan, a Country that was nuked twice rose by focusing on building an impacul agric sector and defeated the west to become the top 3 economies of the world. How did they do it? We need to learn from them, we need to figure it out and replicate. We need to stop selling our land and our water rights, we need to ensure food security for all. Depending only on cocoa is short sighted. I said this over 6 years ago and today the reality is facing us with China and New Zealand producing Cocoa! Research and development added with technology that enables them deploy lower producon costs has been the forte of the Asian Naon and it won't come in as a surprise if one fine sunny day, they capture a sizeable market and we are le behind wonderingwhenandwhathappened.

We have more resilience as a people than the two examples I have shared above, but more than resiliencewealsohavethebrillianceandareagied Connent. We have nave wisdom, aer all we are the cradle of mankind and civilizaon meaning we have nave wisdom when it comes to farming and feeding ourselves. we have good lands, good consistent weather, water bodies, labour force and a rich earth full of minerals; something that Japan and Germany or the Arab emirates did not have clearing showing that development can even happen in the absence of resources, yet we have all the resources sing here on the Connent that is used for medicinal purposes, for technology and to keep the world alive. We have a truly global market that we serve. We are the cradle of the food value chain.

AliMazruimadeaverypowerfulstatementwhenhe said “ Africa produces what it doesn't consume and consumes what it doesn't produce”. Kwame

Nkurumah on the other hand from 1957 right through the 1970 pushed the idea that true liberaon would only be realized if Africa could feed itself.Hisearlyobsessionwasofgreeningthesahara dessert and the iniaves of his imaginaon to create a university that focused on Agriculture and technology. To date we connue to see polical leaders always put agriculture/ farming/ agribusiness as pride of place in their manifestos but connue to lack self-sufficiency in producon of foodespeciallygrain.

Why can Africa not feed itself? Our level of nutrion was much higher back then than it is now where we arefocusedonimportedprocessedfoodsleadingus to have what was once known as the rich man's disease; cancer. We must uphold the principle of producvity exploit our agriculture sector to the benefit of the cizens and maximize the value on the connent. Exporng finished goods is the key to sustainable economic growth and creang jobs for the Connent that has the youngest populaon globally

We are seeing farmers and the youth especially moving from lands and farming that has offered them food sovereignty and independence to work in factories in what is referred to as the monetary economy due to the harsh cost of living. We need to go back to basics and teach children from kindergarten all the way to high school how to grow our own food. We have the land to grow, but people don't know or don't have the tools to grow! Hunger games (if you know, you know) is geng a lile too close for comfort. The young ones are the next generaon are the ones to fix the mess we have created. Convincing young people to farm isn't the hardest part, the hardest part is telling them that they'll get money out of farming. Current corporaons and Governments outside and within the Connent are all fixated and invested on profits and tax. We need to start as many local small scale growing spaces within communies as change can only begin at community levels This actually reminds me of the Gandhi tradion set of people, place and praccality. We need more naked feet, morehandsinthedirtandmorerealfood!

We need to do away with the mindset that many have that playing in mud or farming is for the poor Soil, dirt, mud or earth, whatever you call it, it is rapidly disappearing and that could have a huge

knock-on effects for farming and the food that we eat. Look below your feet. Chances are you are standing on flooring built on concrete. And what is under the concrete? Ghana is slowly turning into a concrete jungle and the more shi we see of people totheurbanareasthemoreconcretewillrise.

Urban regenerave farming is another area of opportunity. It is all about going to basics; how to source manure, compost and seedlings - without money? A learning we can take from Grassroots Economics in Kenya who are showingpeople howto use a community currency to access resources, training and create exchanges of services amongst urban farming passionate. An excellent example of regenerave economic. We need to bring together those passionate about agribusiness to find soluons to food security where ideas and iniaves that present urban residences as part of the soluon to fight hunger and malnutrion in an aesthec ways. Kenya has been able to showcase this is an iniave called 'beauty with food' using vercal gardening that can be placed anywhere from balconies to roof tops Regenerave agriculture is an emerging and excing area within the agricultural industry. With an ever-growing populaon, providing food while maintaining sustainable agriculture producon is a difficult probleminneedofaresoluon

Climate change is another area we are not paying aenon to on the Connent even more so in Ghana with the whole galamsey business. A Naon that destroys its soils destroys itself. Our land is not merely soil but a fountain of energy flowing through a circuit of soils, plants and animals. We somehow live in a bubble thinking that what happens in the first world doesn't affect us, forgeng that we all live under the same atmosphere. Healthy soils host more living organisms making the earth more resilient to climate disasters such as flooding and drought. We need to priorize pracces such as galamsey mining versus farming, agroforestry that combines trees and other companion plants on along side food crops. Good news is; we can reverse theeffectswithregeneraveagriculturalpracces!

The rich rule the poor and the borrower is a slave to the lender Earth has enough for humans needs but not for humans greed. All beings need their share of

ecological space and the right to parcipate in the livingprocesseswhichensurefood and waterforall. Sustainability and jusce are interconnected and robbing others of their righul share deprives them oftheirbasicneedswhichonlydeepensthecrisesof food, water, poverty, hunger and starvaon. We mustlearntogrowmorelocal,livelocalandtakethe windoutoftheglobalimportsails.Weneedtowake up and see the world of tomorrow with the next generaonseyes.

Look at what India and China have accomplishes in the last twenty years. Rwanda has shown that it is possible to do things in Africa. We just need to create ethical governance structures to ensure policies do what they ae supposed to do. Growing food is an act of survival whilst corporate capture is an act of corrupon. Food freedom comes from growing local, natural and self-regulated. African farmers have been trapped in a cycle of debt in a system that actually harms them and their livelihoods. It is a negave economy that also contributes significantly to chemically polluted soil and water ways, biodiversity loss and climate change.Thecostofthesystemoutweighsthereturn for farmers. That is why food producon is kept arficially afloat by Government subsidies The benefits go to agro chemical organizaons and ultra-processed food processors than t farmers of theconsumers.

Around the world colonizers imposed their food preferences on the lands they invaded, eradicang local crop diversity, Indigenous food culture, and food wisdom. Bio-imperialism effecvely eroded ecologically appropriate, climate-resilient, waterprudent, and nutrion-rich millets. We need to look at farming sustainably and the impact of nutrion; millet is a good alternave to maize that consumes ten mes less water than wheat, twenty mes less water than paddy and is highly nutrious than corn. Yet in Ghana we do not consume it as much. Millet is a supper food that provides soluons to our failing guthealth,climatecrisisanddeserficaon.

What covid and the Russian/Ukraine war has taught us is that localizaon is key The ongoing war has once again laid bare just how fragile globalized food systems are. The current globalized, industrial agrifoodsystemisafoodsystemthatcreateshunger by design rooted in greed. The food crisis should be a wake up call to building resilience in food systems

and local food value chains. We need to address the elephantintheroom.

GMO is another topic that we need to really discuss asthereseemstobeasubtlemovetoallowingGMO seeds into the connent which is actually being driven by greed and aempts at control by biotech companies. Locally adapted seeds are much more resilient to climate change and sustainable than lab created soluons. Food is from nature not from a lab, nothing good comes out of science playing God and going against nature. GMO crops such as corn, soy, coon and alfalfa tend to be planted as “monocrops” — acres upon acres of a single plant species. Monocrops are the opposite of diversity, and planng them makes the ecosystem very fragile. Growing more diverse plants, as well as integrang the different plant species as much as possible, makes farmland naturally more resilient to weatherextremes,droughtandpests

One of the other challenges that connue to face us isthathistoricallyfarmlandsconnuetoberuledby patriarchy. Women in Africa sll suffer from land ownership. The oppression of women is deeply intertwined with the exploitaon of the planet. We need to as a Connent create a sustainable future for all and this can only happen through empowering women and challenging the system of oppression to create an equitable world and sustainable future for everyone regardless of gender, race or socio economic status. Women and those with marginalized idenes have shown me and again how resourceful and resilient they can be, even in the face of massive injusce and obstacles. Women farmers toil and moil; they plant, weed, harvest and sell produce to feed the community Womenalsoacvelyplayaroleinreinvenngbeer

ways of doing agriculture, and also put to pracce useful technologies. They go to great lengths to keepthewheelsofourfoodsystemsrolling.

The supposed first world are doing everything possible to ensure they not only have healthy organic food but are food secure. In Switzerland for example, they grow their food, make cheese, bake bread in almost every home Mushrooms are available in cellars to grow, while underground gardens are a thing and sun lamps are used in absence of sunlight during winter We need to drive educaonal iniaves to help our people get more local food grown, produced and harvested. We need to get back to a partnership society and away from the dominator one that we have found ourselves in as a Connent. We must reconnect agriculture with culture, showing that our most basic means of nourishing ourselves must be valued as a holisc part of our lives - speaking to issues of land access, economic, social jusce, and sovereignty - highlighng that the soluon we need is a revoluon. We really do have so much to learn from our communies, indigenous communies who have been growing their own food for ages in the different regions in Ghana and across the Connent.

In summary, Africa and Ghana in parcular has a strong agricultural sector, infinite opportunies with significant potenal for growth and development However, there are sll many challenges that need to be addressed to fully realize the potenal of African agriculture, including improving access to financing and markets, promong sustainable agriculture pracces, and addressing climate change impacts. Food is living currency,essenaltoalllife!Insoilwetrust!

CULTURE, ARTS & TOURISM AND WEALTH CREATION

By James Ebo Whyte

INTRODUCTION

In the late 90s, I worked with an automobile company that was the local agents for three European car brands. We worked under an European who had oversight, not just for Ghana, but for the whole of Africa and the Middle East. Every year, this man came to Ghana to monitor our operaons and understand our market beerandhowwecouldmaximizeourmarketpotenal. From Ghana, he traveled to South Africa and then back tohisbaseinEurope.

I noced that whenever he came to Ghana, he was eager to leave.If for anyreason he spent morethan two days in Ghana, he became very irritable and impaent. We assumed that it was because he was a very busy man with a heavy schedule and so he could not afford to spend too many days outside his base Then we discovered that when he le Ghana, he would spend not lessthanaweekinSouthAfrica.

Now, the South Africans were not doing much beer than us in terms of sales and so we wondered why this busy man who could not spend more than two days in Ghana would happily spend more than a week in South Africa. On one of the annual conferences in Europe to which all the agents across the world aended, we met our South African counterpart and asked him if he could help us understand why he got to host the man for over a week but we could not hold him for more than two days inGhana.

Themanlaughedandasked,“Howdoyouoccupyhim?”

WesaidwegivehimthebestaccommodaonGhanahas to offer and then we ensured that every informaon he would need was available and we ensured he got to meet the right people in government and in relevant sectors.

“And then aer office hours, what do you do?” the South Africanasked.

“We take him to his hotel so he could have a good night's rest,”wesaid.

The South African said, “That is the problem. You don't engage him in the evenings.” Then he said, “When he

comes to South Africa, we make sure that every evening, he experiences and enjoys a different kind of cultural andarscevent.”

We looked at each other's faces. In Ghana, apart from taking him to different drinking spots and restaurants, there was nothing to offer him by way of entertainment andarscexperience.

NOWHERETOGO;NOTHINGTODO

This is the experience of just one company but I am sure that other companies that host foreign guests have the same dilemma. The various internaonal airlines bring in hundreds of foreigners every day. most of these are investors and businesspeople with a clear agenda for their visit. But when the business day is done, the most we have to offer them is a dinner and alcohol and not much else. How much does Ghana lose because we are not able to engage these guests outside the business environmentcanonlybeamaerofspeculaon.

In 2009, I took my play, Unhappy Wives, Confused Husbands, on the road to Kumasi. We had two shows on the day As I stood at the car park welcoming patrons for the second show, a man walked up to me and gave me an envelope containing £200. “Sir, what is the envelope for?”Iaskedhim.

He said, “Uncle Ebo, this is to thank you for bringing your play to Kumasi.” He said, “For those of us who don't drink, there is nowhere for us to go in Kumasi and so thank you for making our evening and please promise to comemoreoen.”

I traveled to Tarkwa and the situaon was the same. I met people who yearned for some arsc event but werestarvedofitbecauseitwasnotavailable. The tragedy is that Ghana has not woken up to the potenal of the culture, arts and tourism to turn our economicfortunesaround.

BIGGERTHANAGRICULTUREANDMINING

Elsewhere, governments used the arts and cultural sector to revive their economics, especially aer the debilitang effects of the COVID shutdowns. And the figures speak for themselves These figures were released by the American Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) from The Arts and Cultural Producon Satellite Account.

The cultural industry in Arkansas employs nearly 27,000 individuals and generates $927 million in personal income for Arkansas cizens Cultural and arts enterprises are the state's third largest employer—aer transport and logiscs and perishable and processed foods.

In North Carolina, the wages and income of workers employed by cultural, arts and tourism industries infused$3.9billionintothestate'seconomyin2006. In Massachuses, the cultural, arts and tourism sector contributed$4.23billiontothestate'seconomy

For2021,theBEAdatashowedthatatthenaonallevel, the arts and cultural sector in the U.S. contributed $1.02trillion to the American economy. This amount, according to the BEA data, was greater than the value addedbysuchindustriesasconstrucon,transportaon andwarehousing,mining,andagriculture.

It is important to note that according to the BEA, the cultural, arts and tourism sector contributes more to America's GDP than agriculture and mining, the two sectors that remain the key focus of successive Ghanaian governments. The American data makes a strong case for Ghana to take a serious look at the cultural, arts and tourism sector in Ghana because that sector could be the salvaon of the weak Ghanaian economy.

ASANTEHENEANDTHECORONATION

Ghana has rich and diverse cultural heritage and yet, unlike other countries, we are not making the most of what we have. For instance, although some people complained of the huge sum (£100m) that was being sank into the coronaon of King Charles III in the UK, the ceremony, the highest display of Brish culture, was expected to give the UK economy a massive £8.0billion boost.(CNN).

We may not have anything in Ghana that compares with the Brish monarchy in terms of its reach but we have kings in Ghana whose events, if properly organized and structured could make contribuons to the economy I

watched on YouTube what happened in Kumasi when the Asantehene returned from King Charles' coronaon and Asanteman decided to celebrate Otumfuo for the honor he had brought to Asanteman. Otumfuo was met by a large crowd at the Kumasi airport and then he was taken on a celebratory parade through Kumasi. The crowd that joined in the parade, in cars, on horses, on motorbikesandonfoot,wasmassive.

The queson is, how much advantage did Asanteman or Ghana take of the occasion to impact the economy of Kumasi? If even T-shirts of the picture Otumfuo took with King Charles at the Buckingham Palace were printed for sale, I am sure they would have sold out. As it was,therewasalotofcelebraonandeuphoriabutvery lile business, beside the business that those who sold sachet water along the route might have made selling to thoseintheparade.

WASTINGPRECIOUSOPPORTUNITIES?

It is obvious that as a naon, we have not averted our minds to the economic potenal of our culture, arts and tourism. We have fesvals like Homowo, Aboagyir, Bakatue and others that could boost the economy but unfortunately,wehavenotmadethemostofthem.

In addion to these tradional fesvals, there are new fesvals like Charle Wote Fesval, Carnival on Osu Oxford Street etc. These, both the tradional and the new fesvals, have huge potenal for impacng our economy but unfortunately we do not seem to catch the visionasanaon.

As a naon we can no longer say we are not aware of the economic significance of such events because we have examples to make us even more determined to make the most of our cultural and arsc offerings. Take Ghana's Year of Return in 2019 as an example. The event marked 400 years since the first enslaved Africans reached America. The government invited all people of African descent to return to the connent – specifically Ghana – to rethink their identy and reclaim their roots. According to the then Minister of Tourism, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, the event which aracted celebries like Steve Harvey to Ghana, generated a total of $1.9billion to Ghana's economy Some of the acvies that contributed to this figure included air travel, hotel accommodaon, transport fares, as well as other key entertainmentevents.

In 2021, I traveled to Abefi to speak at the Presbyterian University. It was the first me I was traveling on the Kwahu mountains since the late 80s. When we came to Kwahu-Nkwaa, I was blown away by the Rock City hotel. Nothing had prepared me for that kind of facility tuckedawayintheKwahumountains.

On my way back from my engagement at the university, I gotthedrivertostopatthehotelsoIcouldtakethesight in beer I wondered then, why the owner of the facility had not put it up in Accra, where I thought he would

havehadmorebusiness.

Fortunately for me, a few months later, UNDP invited me to speak at their staff retreat at that hotel. I took advantage of the trip to engage the manager of the facility and I was pleasantly surprised that because of the annual Kwahu Easter program, the facility was bookedyearsinadvance.

The good news is that it is not only the Rock City that benefits from the annual Kwahu Easter The fesval has been one of the biggest events in Ghana and although figures are not available, it is reasonable to assume that theeconomyofKwahuisenhancedbyit.

The point I am making is that the potenal of our cultural, arts and tourism sector is huge but there is work to be done and government must lead this effort orthepotenalwillnotbefullyrealized.

INTRINSICVALUE

Sofar,Ihavetriedtomakeacasefortheeconomicvalue and significance of the culture, arts and tourism sector but the sector has more to offer than just direct economiccontribuon.

I am talking of the intrinsic values that the sector offers which are: to entertain, to delight, to challenge, to give meaning, to interpret, to raise awareness, and to smulate.

These non-market values are difficult to measure in monetary terms but they are just as important as the direct economic values. While jobs can be created by many economic acvies, we need to ask the queson, what other sector can generate these same intrinsic values?

When Gallup and the Knight Foundaon set out to answer the queson “What aaches people to their communies?” in a three-year study, researchers found that the key reasons cited by residents for loving their cieswere:

·entertainment and social offerings, ·how welcoming thecityis,itsaesthecs—

Inotherwords,theartsandculture.

Mayors in the USA are embracing a new concept for designing their cies. The concept is called “creave placemaking.” In a white paper on creave placemaking for the Mayors' Instute on City Design, the Urbanplanning researcher Ann Markusen defined this conceptthus:

“In creave placemaking, partners from public, private,

nonprofit and community sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town,cityorregionaroundartsandculturalacvies.” In creave place-making, the arts are used to develop an area where people want to live, work and congregate.

The possible economic impact of creave placemaking was explained by Jamie Benne, director of public affairs for the American Naonal Endowment for the Arts. He said, “A theater has 1,000 people show up at eight o'clock and leave at eleven o'clock. A museum might have 1,000 visitors spread out over the course of an eight-hour day. A rehearsal studio might have 30 people coming and going every hour over 12 hours. You put the three different organizaons in proximity to one another and, all of a sudden, you have a full day of posive foot traffic on a street — feet that belong to people who need to eat meals, buy newspapers, go shopping and take public transportaon. You have everymayor'sdream.”

The key is to treat the arts as an essenal part of the city's identy Successful creave placemaking builds the economy at the local level, enhances surrounding non-arts businesses and provides job opportunies and ways for individuals to parcipate in acvies associated with the arts and cultural events. The results bring people together, spark community pride and createamorevibrant“place.”

This is the direcon some developed naons are going in building and designing their cies with a view to making them economically strong and Ghana cannot affordtoignorethewisdomandvalueofthismovement towards making the arts and culture central to social andeconomicdevelopment.

Cultural capital, which is defined as the sum total of a country's wealth or stock of art, heritage and other kind of cultural expression, like other kinds of capital, needs to be invested in – otherwise it will depreciate and be devaluedoverme.

CONCLUSION

So far in Ghana, we have treated the arts and culture sector in the same way we used to raise domesc poultry in the past. We leave the players in the sector to struggle on their own and hope that something good will come out. I argue that the potenal of the arts and culture sector and industries is too important and so needed by Ghana that we cannot connue to pay lipservicetoit.

AGRIBUSINESS AND WEALTH CREATION AND WEALTH CREATION AGRIBUSINESS

As a young girl growing up, I realized very quickly the role agriculture played in ensuring there was food on the table. My Dad, who is very passionate about farming, introduced my siblings and myself to farming at a very young age. I have so many fond memories of our visits to our great-grandparents in Kwabeng in the Eastern Region, who were farmers. The walks we would take from the house to the farm and the lovely me we had not just admiring nature, but also parcipang as much as we can in whatever acvity we could find ourselves doing on the farm. Those were proud moments for me because I knew thatthroughtheirefforts,familieswerebeingfed.

Agriculture is a significant contributor to the Ghanaian economy and an important source of employment, with over 40% of all workers engaged in farming. In 2021, the share of value added by the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector to the gross domesc product in Ghana amounted to 19.71%. The sector remains an important source of income for many households hence it remains essenal to the country's sustainable growth and development due to its impact on employment, income generaon and poverty reducon. Many of the primary acvies within the sector include cereal producon, mainly maize, sorghum and rice, vegetable producon and poultry producon Some other acvies include livestock rearing and fish farming. As a country, our focus has been on producon, with lile aenon devoted to value addion.

The agricultural sector which has been the principal sector for the development of Ghana's economy has since the colonial era undergone many polically-led reforms which have led to marginal growth with low contribuon to agricultural industrialisaon, and perhaps most importantly, no significant impact on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers who form about 70% of food producers in the country. In the early sixes and sevenes, there was the establishment of large-scale state-owned farms which was anchored in the opinion that small-scale farming was difficult to modernise. However, the economic and social benefits of tradional small-scale farming were also recognised, hence the establishment of commodity development boards toenhancetheagriculturalacviesofsmallholder farmers.

The famous 'Operaon Feed Yourself' and Operaon Feed Your Industries' policies, championedbytheAcheampongregime,wereall targeted at increasing producvity for consumpon and industrializaon. During this period the state relied on a system of high direct and indirect taxaon of agricultural commodies, control of agricultural markeng, input supply, and storage, through public administraon with lessparcipaonbytheprivatesector.

Structural adjustment programmes as a response to the economic crises of the late 1970s led to massivereformsintheagriculturalsector Policies reduced the role of the state thereby leading to increased privasaon. These policies included theremovalofsubsidies,disbandingofmarkeng boards, support for export crop producon, land tenure administraon reforms to enable foreign direct investments, and the liberalisaon of trade in all sectors. Increased private sector involvement led to significant producon growth due to land expansion and the applicaon of modernfarmingpracces.

As a response to the liberalisaon of Ghana's economy coupled with the need for foreign direct investments, within a doctrine of modernisaon of agriculture under private systems, there has been a rise of large-scale commercial farming. The state also facilitated land acquisions for many foreign companies However, many of these companies are engaged in agro-fuel crop producon,whichisnotconsistentwithhistorical foodandcashcropproducon.

The focus on modernizing agriculture especially with our small-scale farmers has seen very lile improvement with minimal output. The Planng for Food and Jobs (PFJ) policy introduced was to increase food producon in the country to facilitate the transformaon of Ghana's agriculture. The policy rallied all cizens to grow grain crops and vegetables, encouraging all

instuons to set up their own farms to feed the naon, export the surpluses, reduce the excessive food import bill and generate employment for Ghanaians This it hoped to achieve through the introducon of subsidies of inputs such as seed and ferlizer to encourage farmerstouseimprovedseedsandapplyferlizer therebyincreasingoutputonfields.

Despite all these reforms, Ghana sll relies heavily on food imports and has been unable to transformtheagriculturalsectortoserveasatool that creates jobs especially for the youth. Clock is cking…cktockcktock.

Harnessing the opportunies in the agricultural sector should no longer be a thought, neither should it be a conversaon where policians, top business execuves, and the youth gather around to discuss. It has to be our reality; it has to be the wheel we steer towards the path of not just economic growth but also towards liberaon fromGhana'stotaldependencyonfoodimports‒to ensure we do not get labelled as a food insecure naon. The neglect of investment in agricultural research and development connues tobethebaneofthenaon.

Despite a growing youthful populaon in Ghana, the demographics of farmers engaged in small scale/tradional farming are older adults between the ages of 45-70 years. With the ability of the sector to create jobs and reduce poverty, it seems quite baffling the low parcipaon and perceived lack of interest of the youth along the agriculturalvaluechain.

As a young lady studying agriculture, I have always wondered, with all the opportunies available why is there low parcipaon of the youth in agriculture? Is low mechanizaon really the problem, or lack of investment? What about government involvement by increasing funds allocated to Ag-research? Is value-addion

through industrializaon not an opportunity that should demand more aenon than it is geng? What about climate-resilience of our crops? Are we ready for the ravaging effects of climate change? Essenally, why do these apparent boleneckslingerthroughthechangingscenesof governance with no proacve steps taken by the key stakeholder, government, that will lead to exponenal growth in the agricultural sector? Or is it just a maer of leadership? Does the government or farmers see the need to create a transformaonal seed industry that is able to sustainably supply the required quanes of good quality seed which with the right applicaon of technology, would lead to increased producvity? What role do the youth play in catapulng the modernizaon and adoponoftechnologyintheAg-sector?

2. Diversificaon of crops: The diverse weather climate and agro ecology of Ghana makes it suitable for the culvaon of a variety of crops. This presents an opportunity for product or crop diversificaon and the exploring of new crops that have high demand both locallyandinternaonally.

3. Access to markets: Ghana has access to regional and internaonal markets, which presents an opportunity for farmers and agribusinesses to expand their customer base and increase their revenue.

in the agricultural sector has created a poor percepon of the sector in the eyes of the youth. It has also limited the potenal of the sector to transform the country's economy With the growing potenal of the youth, the me is now to direct a shi from agriculture to agribusiness. This will provide an essenal pathway to revitalize the Ghanaian agricultural sector and to make it a more aracve and profitableventure.

There are numerous opportunies in Ghana's agricultural sector available for the applicaon of innovaon.Theseincludethefollowing:

1. Increased demand for agricultural

products: Ghana has a growing populaon that requires food, and as a result, there is a need for increased food producontomeetthegrowingdemand. This presents an opportunity for farmers and agribusinesses to increase their produconandsupply.

4. Technology adopon: There is a growing trend of technology adopon in the agricultural sector, which presents an opportunity for farmers to increase their producvity and efficiency using modern technologies.

Unl recently, agriculture was treated as just an acvity of land preparaon and crop harvesng. The growing loss of arable land due to real estate development, depleng natural resources, growing migraon by rural youth to urban areas, negave percepon of the children of farmers towards farmers, and emerging technologies have necessitated the remodelling of agricultural acvies creang an opportunity for agricultural entrepreneurship/agri-preneurship Agripreneurship has the potenal to generate growth by diversifying income, providing widespread employment and entrepreneurial opportunies especially for the youth In Ghana, agripreneurship can create sustainability in the agricultural sector by promong innovaon, creang new markets, and encouraging youth parcipaon. By leveraging new technologies, developing sustainable supply chains, and providing support to young entrepreneurs, it is possible to build a more sustainable and

profitable agricultural sector that can support economic development and food security in Ghana.

The applicaon of ICT (informaon and communicaon technology) which is a new wave in agriculture can revoluonize the sector thereby increasing youth parcipaon. By taking advantage of the tech savviness of the youth, we can modernize and grow the sector. Some of the ways in which ICT can be used in agriculture include:

1. Precision farming: ICT tools, such as drones, sensors, and GPS, can help farmers collect data on soil condions, moisture levels, and crop growth paerns. In this era of climate uncertaines, this informaon can be used to opmize the use of ferlizers, pescides, and water, reducing waste andincreasingyields.

2. Farm management soware: ICT-based farm management soware can help farmers manage their operaons more efficiently, with features such as inventory tracking, crop planning, and record-keeping.

3. Market informaon: ICT tools can provide farmers with up-to-date market informaon, including pricing data and demand forecasts, allowing them to make more informed decisions about what crops to plant and when to sell them.

4. Mobileapps:therearemanymobileapps that can be designed specifically for farmers, providing them with access to a range of services, including weather forecasng, pest management, and markengtools.

5. Online marketplaces: ICT plaorms can connect farmers with buyers, creang markeng opportunies and expanding theircustomerbase.

Overall, the applicaon of ICT can help farmers overcome the challenges of modern agriculture, providing them with informaon and resources they need to succeed in a rapidly changing industry.

Agricultural research is fundamental to enhancing Ghana's agricultural producvity. The sector is plagued with low output on farmer fields which is aributed to total dependence on rainfall as the main source of moisture, poor applicaon of good agronomic pracces, poor adopon to improved technologies such as the planng of hybrids, purchase and planng of quality seeds. Ghana has a Naonal Agricultural Research System (NARS) that covers research instutes, terary educaonal instuons, and other organizaons. Ghana's main agency for agricultural R&D is the Council for Scienfic and Industrial Research (CSIR). The CSIR provides the main research instuonal framework for agricultural technology development and innovaon Other agricultural research instuons outside of the CSIR also exist including the Cocoa Research Instute of Ghana (CRIG), Biotechnology Nuclear Agricultural Research Instute (BNARI) and the Marine Fisheries Research Division (MFRD). This is complemented by research work in terary educaonalinstuons.

These instuons have over the years released variees across the staple crops produced in the country. They have also created and developed products that are based on consumer preferences. Most of these products are developedbasedonobjecvesidenfiedthrough a parcipatory approach of the various stakeholders along the agricultural value. The

development of high-yielding and resistant variees has resulted in increased crop producvityandhigherincomeforfarmers.

Despite these efforts by research centres in Ghana, the impact has not been greatly felt due to the low adopon and applicaon of good agronomic pracces, low mechanizaon and poor integraon of innovaon in farming pracces To fully harness the impact of agricultural research in Ghana, there needs to be intenonal efforts by the government to strengthen research instuons by providing them with the necessary resources and funding to carry out research acvies. Connued collaborave research between researchers, farmers and other stakeholders needs to be encouraged as we connue to improve extension services in the country. Government policies that incenvize the adopon of research findings can also help to ensure that research findings are put into pracce and have a real impact on the livelihoodsoffarmers.

In conclusion, without key investment from Government and funding opportunies from the

private sector as well as the implementaon of transformaonal policies coupled with an established linkage between industry and Agresearch, the involvement of the youth to drive agri-prenuership will be a connuous mirage. Encouraging agri-preneurship thereby improving Ghana's Agribusiness sector would lead to higher incomes and create more jobs. Deliberate focus on developing the agribusiness sector in Ghana will pave the way for economic growth, structural transformaon and improved skills which would inadvertently catalyze economic acvies and connect other major sectors in the Ghanaian economy. The Ag-sector has a greater impact on poverty reducon than other sectors in Ghana's economy and it is crical for rural development, environmentalsustainability,and servesas buffer duringeconomicshocks.

The youth are hungry for success, unfortunately agriculture to them is the path of unending hard work with nothing to show for The story of agriculture has to change. There needs to be an intenonal effort from us all to live the reality of the great opportunies Agriculture has to offer. Themeisnottomorrow,themeisNOW

RETRO GRESSIVE TRADITIONS

By Okyeame Kwame

THELOSTMONEY

Imagine you are 12 years old and you lose your mother's 2000 Cedis. She gives you 25 lashes withhercane. Yourfatheralsoadds 12lashes. I asked 20 university students whether they would give the money to their parents if they found the money under their bed aerwards. Some of them said, yes, they will, to shame their parents. Others said they wouldn't because the money is theirs aer the beangs. Both answers arebadfortheparents.

Ÿ Dowewantourchildrentoloveusorfearus?

Ÿ Who told us to beat our children when they makemistakesordisagreewithus?

MYSTORY

Dyslexiamadelearningadaunngtaskformeasa child. I remember not liking the idea of school because my Class One teacher would beat me to pulp, saying, "you are a teacher's son but you do notwishtolearn".

The sad thing was, I couldn't tell my parents because they had sanconed her to beat my stupidity out of me. So, my teacher would beat me in school and my parents would beat me at home because I could not recite my ABCs. Again, my mother used to call my uncles to come and beat me because I was a cry-baby. They would whip me and ask me not to cry. I remember that atage10,Iusedtosay'Amu,aniopforMnop'.

This depressing paradox broke my spirit. I became mid unl I was 18 years old. Fast forward to the year 1983. I completely and beaufully failed my Ordinary levels, and it was me for my dad to weep. When he saw my results he cried out 'oh mysonwhy!?"

Ÿ Who told us that a child who cannot learn how toaddandregurgitatealphabetsisstupid?

Ÿ Whotoldustousefearasatooltobringupour children?

GENERATIONALVALUES

Tradion is defined as the ideas and artefacts handed down from one generaon to the other. Most tradions are great, but some are not relevant in modern mes and should be quesoned and cancelled. For example, beang childrenwhentheydisagreewithus.

Some great African tradions are - respecng women, respecng elders, respecng nature, respecng the shared values of the community,

respecng God or Gods, respecng our responsibility towards each other and life in general.–Posivetradionsgraphics.

However, there are three major tradions that anchor the African youth and retards their development.

1. RETROGRESSIVE PARADIGMS IN FORMAL EDUCATION.

King Leopold - the Second, told the missionaries to teach the Negros to read and not to reason. They cametotheCongosanddeliveredthismissionwith aptprecision.However,thatwasinthe1800s.

Ÿ Why is quesoning sll an abominaon in some ofourschools?

Ÿ Why has our educaon become a memory contest?

Ÿ Why do we sll enforce this style of learning in mostofourschools?

Ÿ Why am I wrong when I do not reproduce the exactinformaonmylecturerwrote?

Ÿ Why is educaon targeted only at developing a partofmybrainandnotmywholebeing?

Ÿ Why are the white collar courses more respectedthanothercourses?

Ÿ Whyispovertynotadegreecourse?

Ÿ Whyisreasoningnottaughtfromage5?

Ÿ Why is innovaon not a prerequisite for every graduaon?

Theanswerissimple.Thatisnotthetradion. But, we could learn something from what Krishnamur argued that "Intelligence requires doubng and quesoning and not being impressed by other's enthusiasmandenergy".

2. RETROGRESSIVEPARADIGMSINRELIGION

We must credit religion for teaching altruism, upliing the weak, creang equity, and spreading love and hope in the world. Religion serves the purpose of deterrent to deviance, a guide for correctness and therapeuc for pain The transformaon process is what some have seized and turned into an opportunity to make money at the expense of others. Someway, somehow, it has become a way to let Africans live by faith alone,

reject logic and evidence and sll feel proud of doingthe"righteous"thing.

Ÿ We dare not queson the source of creaon. The creaon story is perfect. There are many creaon stories and they are all true to their culture. How many mes was the earth created?

Ÿ Some accept completely that the ancestral spirits can and will bring us loo numbers to becomerich,sowhyshouldIwork?

Ÿ The misconcepon that the blood of Jesus can clean my sins on Sunday would obviously encourage my collecon of bribes and, of course,beforgiven.SowhyshouldIbehonest?

Ÿ There are unconfirmed rumours that the fraudulent young man in my village can become invincible with some blood sacrifices or seedsowing and definitely become financially successful. So why should we build factories and promote skills development if we can build more churches, more shrines and more mosques?

Ÿ My prophet says my financial break through is inAmerica,sowhykeepmyGhanaclean?

Ÿ The menstruang woman is unclean, the divorced but remarried man is adulterous, the scienst is an atheist; the philosopher is a nonbeliever

Ÿ No maer how resourceful, producve, and professional a non-believer is, don't work with himorher.

Ÿ Why do we allow our relaonship with God, who is love, to segregate us into psychological groups, to hate ourselves? In the famous words ofBlack-EyedPeas"whereisthelove?"

We are living in a jar and thinking the lid is the heavens.

When Jesus Christ said love your neighbour, did he

mean except your menstruang neighbour, except your unbelieving neighbour, except your disabled neighbour, except your Muslim neighbour? I guess not. But the retrogressive tradion in religion says do so and ask no quesons else you will burn in hell. Well, let me quote the prophet Mohammed (PBUH) "you are not a Muslim unless you've learnt to wish for othersallthegoodyouwishforyourself."

3.RETROGRESSIVEPARADIGMSINCULTURE

Our culture is ever-changing. It is dynamic and never stac. But if the tradions of the culture choke it from evolving, development stays in a revolvingloopandrecurringpaerns.

Ÿ We must eat the same food our foremothers ate.

Ÿ We must wrap ourselves the same way our forefatherwrapped

Ÿ The music is not good if it doesn't have elementsofoldclassics

Ÿ Our art is only beauful if it's essence is connectedtothepast.

Regardless of the spirit behind the reason our ancestors created their lifestyle, we must not changeit.

Ÿ So we kill and eat animal protein and develop many diseases, but sll do it because tradion permits it. Our ancestors needed energy to farm and fish, so they ate a lot of carbohydrates. Some of us who work in the officesslleatlikeour predecessors and suffer roundedness of the belly, but we do not quesonthischoice.Wemustfollowsuitorbe punishedbythegroupforlackoftribeloyalty.

Ÿ In an African marriage, the man is mostly the boss. He gathers and the woman nurtures. His gathering (money and protein) is considered more important the nurturing Woman is supposed to worship her husband whiles he worships his side-chic or side-chics. Woman is supposed to cry but sll treat her husband withrespect.

Today, norms are changing but the retrogressive tradionspersist.

Ÿ The industrious woman can afford a cook and a washing machine, and men cannot stand it, so she is a “bad woman” because she doesn't cook and clean. That's why many marriages arebreaking.

Ÿ A child is forbidden from asking about his sexual organs and innate experience, so he experiments with his peers and is immediately taggedasabadchild.

Ÿ A child cannot, no, should not look straight intohisfather'seyeswhenhespeakstohim.

Ÿ A child must be beaten for trying something newandmakingamistake.

Ÿ Manmustnotcry

Ÿ Boyswillbeboys.

Ÿ Deathismorevaluablethanbirth.

Ÿ 'Diɛ kɔm ɛkun nu, ɛduane ɛbu wo na yiɛ asi'. RetrogressiveTradion.Translate–Thereisan abundance of food at the funeral of the man whodiedstarving.

Ÿ Thecultureofcomparingandcompeon.

Ÿ The culture of Goro, Cola, grease my palms, sort me out The Accepted tradion of kickbacks turned most of our leaders into soccerplayers.Kickingbackourdevelopment.

Ÿ In my industry - there is the culture of objecfying women in music videos (gyrang in nudity) whiles the man stands in front of his dreamhousesplurgingpropdollars.

Ÿ We have a culture of demanding respect from our children, teaching them to demand respect from their peers. Respect is great, but onceyoudemandit,youdon'tdeserveit.

Ÿ We teach our children to expect more from others than to create for self, creang adult African leaders who are dependent on Europe throughborrowing.

Ÿ We show our children their tribe is superior to others, but their race is inferior. RetrogressiveTradion.

Ÿ We teach our children to fear to love but love fear. The consequence of this is, we chain their wings and prepare them to hope instead of flying higher than we reached.

THEWORDISDEVELOPMENTAL

Howdowedevelopthe'mental'?

Myanswerissimple.

The African youth is born pure with the natural intelligence to coexist with nature in such a way that we survive without destroying our environment. This intelligence willcomebackashorewhenweallowthemtoquesonourtradionsandculture.

Let us teach our children to queson with the intelligence of love and inclusion, and notwithintellectualprejudice.

Let's teach our children to queson the idea that "bad " thoughts come from the devil, so they can find out for themselves that good and bad thoughts come directly fromthemind.

Small thoughts become dominant thoughts, and these thoughts are responsible for our acons and inacons. We are in total control of our thoughts. Second to life, the mindistheulmategifromGod.

Again, let's teach our children to queson the essence of the tradion, queson our limitaons, queson the reason behind the becoming, queson hegemony, quesonourparenng,andquesontheirthoughts.

Let us all together, as Africa's youth, “queson everything unl there are no more quesonsbeforewetakeacons”