The size of Hope City is enough to induce skepticism about the project. But it seems there is no partisan divide on the venture. Even a former NPP Minister is gung-ho about the project.

“Hope City deserves support from all,” he says and that “government should be able to fashion out protective mechanism, find a way of blocking imports to give… space....”

The implication is the support government lends must be vigorous because of the necessity of "picking winners" to assure that the national brand survives in the global market.

The ex-minister is wrong.

Whenever government interferes with the market, citizens become the losers and crony-capitalism the winner. Also, more often than not, these government backed ventures fail.

What exactly is Hope City and what is it set up to do that requires vigorous government support and 10 billion US Dollars to build?

It is said to be an attempt to build a huge ICT enterprise within one local footprint area. The idea is the brainchild of a Ghanaian private company called Rlg Communications. It is also said to have conglomerates like Microsoft as backers.

An article in the Daily Graphic reports on March 12, 2013 that the Hope City project “falls within the broad framework of Ghana government’s policy of giving priority to infrastructure development with particular interest in the energy sector."

A similar story on Joy-On-Line is silent on the energy development part. Instead, it says the project, when completed, “will have residential accommodation, universities, office accommodation, health and recreational facilities as well as an ICT park among others….It will also have the tallest building on the continent upon completion, occupying a total 24.47 acre of land.”

BBC, however, describes Hope City as too ambitious for an individual. And the same should be said for a nation whose GDP is worth less than 85 billion USD and which nation just escaped from the jaws of poverty, thanks to HIPC.

The question for the supporters of Hope City is why this vigorous, bi-partisan and romantic hoopla about the project when, as observed from statements issued about Hope City so far, the core mission for the nation is not that clear.

Add to this question the nation’s current headaches – energy crisis and water distribution problems - and you would wonder who exactly is in charge of the list of  our nation's priorities.

The nation has always had a set of basic perennial infra-structural problems, starting with energy and water generation and distribution.

The solution for decades has always escaped us.  It has even grown worse with the years. Common sense would require the tackling of these massive problems and that means making them the first target of our brains and material resources.  Instead, our government is now captivated by the huge Hope City project; a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, which may be illusive.

The Daily Graphic article reports that “the government is collaborating with the Agams and the Rlg groups for actual realization” of the Hope City project. The sod for the project has already been cut by the president of the nation himself.

Public perception is that the project is on course and that some portion from our treasury has already been earmarked for the task; lack of clarity on government's part, its interest and share in the project and other far demanding tasks of rank on the national priority list  notwithstanding.

Hope City, some claim euphorically, is going to house the tallest building on the continent and they welcome the idea and the grandeur that comes with it.

But, it is not the grandeur that one must question. Grandeur is good for as long it fulfills a core objective. The Sistine Chapel was built centuries ago to glorify God. Akosombo and Tema Harbor were built along lines of grandeur but their practicalities were instantly palpable. Can anyone tell with certainty what is palpable about Hope City?

Clearly, the building of universities, residential and technology hubs on a single real estate space should not justify the expenditure of 10 billion USD.

Rlg Communication may want to risk its capital as any private enterprise would with its own source of funding. But a government that cannot bail itself from energy and water crises from year to year should not be seen as a source for funding any part of this grandiose scheme.

The real hand driving the Hope City scheme may not be evident, but the sentiment to turn this project into a Silicon Valley like project, where brilliant, creative minds could congregate or sprout, has become transparent. The bet, however, is whether this project is not loaded with pork for the boys.

Silicon Valley itself did not grow out of government's behest. Its growth was organic with support from a major university in the United States; Stanford University. Perhaps, we should invest directly into our universities for similar results.

Turning to our universities for building similar technology parks at a fraction  of the cost may yield a better result.

Roland Agambire, CEO and founder of Rlg Communication, is adamant that “his company took a bigger risk to launch the Hope City project to make Ghana a competitive hub in the ICT world.” We need men like him. But it is his money. For the Ghana government, it is public money and that should be another matter.

The judicious use of public money requires government to use it to solve problems; fixing our major, basic and perennial infra-structural problems first is one such task. It is fundamental and essential to our social and economic development.

Bill Gates didn’t need Silicon Valley to create programs for his first computer. Certainly, our fellow Ghanaian scientists, ICT engineers and program designers should not need a 10 billion USD showcase to spark their ingenuities.
 

E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Publisher www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC, March 14, 2013

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