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Think tank introduces new
framework for Ghana’s economic transformation
Ghana’s economy has achieved record-breaking growth in recent
years. So why isn’t the economy transforming? The nation’s
leading economists, policymakers, and business leaders gathered
at the Alisa Hotel in Accra on March 31 to discuss this matter
as the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET)
presented its 2014 African Transformation Report. Those in
attendance included Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, Chairman of Ghana
National Gas Company; Ken Ofori-Atta, CEO of Databank; Ishmael
Yamson, former Chair of the Economic Advisory Council; and Nana
Owusu Afari, former president of the Association of Ghana
Industries.
The report introduced the African Transformation Index, which
ranks 21 Sub-Saharan countries on their economic transformation;
Ghana came in 16th place overall, a drop of seven places since
2000, partly because the country’s exports are becoming less
sophisticated: foodstuffs and gold dominate (82%) while the
share of manufactured products is dropping (around 15% in 2008).
In countries that successfully transformed earlier, such as
Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea, the opposite trend
has occurred since the 1980s.
While transformation has become a buzzword recently, this report
has clarified its meaning and provided a framework for measuring
it to guide country strategies. According to Mr. Kwame Pianim,
former Chairman of United Bank for Africa, the report can be
used as a guide to help move Ghana up the rankings. “What we
have here in this excellent report,” Pianim said, “is an
organizing framework for economic transformation.”
The report argues that Africa’s current growth patterns are not
sustainable and will not drive development or equality. Africa
needs growth with DEPTH—namely Diversification, Export
competitiveness, increased Productivity, and Technological
innovation—all leading to Human wellbeing. Only then will Ghana,
and the entire continent, truly transform. Regarding foreign
direct investment (FDI), for instance, the report looks beyond
the headline numbers to investigate how much is going to
manufacturing and reveals that Ghana has 4 manufacturing plants
financed by FDI, compared with Kenya’s 11 and South Africa’s 61.
A persistent theme during the discussions was the need for a
consistent national vision that transcends party lines. Ms.
Abena D. Oduro, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics
at the University of Ghana, added, “What is missing in this
country is continuity of policy. Everyone wants to come in and
show they are doing something different.” During his remarks,
Mr. P.V. Obeng, Chairman of the National Development Planning
Commission (NDPC) supported ACET’s hopes for the Ghanaian
economy. “We have become devotees of the principles of
transformation,” said Obeng. “And we have to find the political
system that will transform our economy.” He concluded that the
NDPC should be depoliticized.
The afternoon assembly also featured presentations by Prof.
Ernest Aryeetey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Dr.
Yaw Ansu, ACET’s Chief Economist, Prof. Joe Amoako-Tuffour,
Senior Adviser at ACET, and Mr. Tony Oteng-Gyasi, CEO of
Tropical Cables and Conductors.
K.Y. Amoako, ACET’s president and founder, explained that ACET
is a “think-and-do” tank that has supported several African
governments in policy formulation as well as implementation. He
ended the day with: “Transformation must be a national project.
For ACET, this is just the beginning.”
The African Transformation Report can be downloaded at
www.africantransformation.org.
/About ACET
The African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) is an
Accra-based economic policy institute supporting Africa’s
long-term economic growth through transformation. Founded by K.Y.
Amoako, former Executive Secretary of the UN’s Economic
Commission for Africa, ACET’s team of roughly 30 core staff come
from every sub-region of the continent, including Burkina Faso,
DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and Uganda. More at
www.acetforafrica.org
For copies of the Ghana presentation, please e-mail Erinn
Ransom-Ofori at eransom-ofori@acetforafrica.org
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