Aid has not developed any country, Ghanaians, we will have to take charge of our destiny

I started with this post on Facebook and the discussion has been interesting. Let me share it with you.

Apart from Germany & Japan who benefited from the Marshal plan. No country has developed from aid. We need to delay instant gratification for the development of our country Ghana. Singapore has done it moving from 3rd world in one single generation. We can do it as a country. It starts with me & you. The leaders of this beloved country Ghana.

Then Kwabena Agyapong Asare came saying “neither can you develop with leaders with entitlement mentality like we have in parliament and executives of Ghana” Yes I agree with him. But I think that we need to say this to ourselves. Afia Dankyi then ask “Ok so Edem what exactly can we do. Please put an action plan on board and count me in fully. Am really ready for some action now.” We need to put together our own Marshall plan for Ghana. With technology we can crowd our vision where we will get all involved. The National Planning Development Commission should lead the country to develop a national plan and all that party should do in their manifestos based on how they will actualize the plan. So our votes will based on who will be able to actualize our plans. So this is what I replied on Facebook “Edem Ashigbi We need to come up with pragmatic nationalistic plans which is non partisan and ensure that we execute flawlessly. If Singapore could do it within a generation with no resources then we can”

Emmanuel Tetteh Kwao Insightful and on point boss. I agree with u on the national action plan or strategy which all political parties must dovetail their manifestos into. Everyone has a will to win but very few have the will to prepare to win. The destiny of our country lies in own hands. Yes we can do it if all of us can put our hands on wheels and eschew the pull him down (PHD), ‘U know it all’ so do it n lets see (sitting on the defense n watching) n above selfishness attitudes. Then of cause we will surely get there. God bless” Then Michael then followed with along piece that got me to decide to tell this as one piece.

Michael K-Poh Edem, you will agree that Singapore crafted it successes largely under a dictatorial regime – that is still largely in place. The closest times we have come to dictatorial regimes in Ghana were under Nkrumah, under Acheampong (Operation Feed Yourself) & JJR – from 1979 – 2000, more or less.
The logical question is how or why was Singapore able to drive change using a dictatorial vehicle of government? It was largely due to the express use of the power of the state, and an uncanny ability to generate committed support from the “oppressed” people to achieve a tandem march to global prominence & success. In Ghana on the other hand, the dictatorial government’s achieved the opposite; they cowed the people into submission and limited the talent pool available & required to drive change, both substantial & of a scale that would be difficult to halt. Arguably, Nkrumah was able to do this, he moved with great rapidity and built structures and institutions required to thrust Ghana into the forefront of global achievement & prominence. However, his efforts were thwarted by the “66” coup. Other dictators who came after him failed to replicate the scale he achieved – in terms of infrastructural investment and societal opt-in required to move forward as a single nation.

You state – rightly so – that we are individually & collectively responsible for the next stage of the development process; the question, however, is “are we ready & committed, to collectively accept, coalesce around, & implement the policies & behaviors necessary to take us to the next levels. Forget the stage and successes chalked by Singapore; we are nowhere close to the factors required to accelerate Ghana to the status presently occupied by Singapore. For starters we are indisciplined, corrupt, occupied with personal gains to the detriment of the promotion of the State and collective gains; our educational system is faltering, we are in denial of the reality of our situation; leaders take advantage of temporary pleasures & needs of Ghanaians, to exploit same for political advantage; we are unsure & unable to distinguish Statesmen – who can drive Ghana to great levels, from charlatans who have no clue with regards to the real & potential use of power. The available talent pool necessary to thrust Ghana to great levels has been whittled down by emigration & the attractions of the private sector.

This is a bleak picture, & I worry every day; we have become a nation of “islands of comfort,” where the relatively few successful folks, have built, & are building small, near-perfect enclaves where they spend their social lives, after they have closed from work, neglecting the interests & concerns of those unable to share the advantages they have created for themselves. In effect, those with the skills, competencies & finances, who can help, have retreated from society, leaving the wide, critical arena to others, few of whom, have the abilities, competencies, temperament & skills required to build. Great nation. Needless to say, they do not express – except for electoral & political purposes – nor are they actually interested, in genuine development of Ghana.

I can go on & on, however, I think it is safe to say this; the challenges we face are unprecedented & gargantuan!! What are the next steps?”

This is my final response to Michael “Edem Ashigbi Michael K-Poh the problem is this type of accessing and analysing our situation. We have become a nation of pessimists & people without hope. The people of Singapore who were also confronted with situations as dire as ours and with far less resources than we have both material & human.

What is left is the leadership and with this attitude we are defeated before we even started. My question to you and myself is what are we doing to change the status quo. Are we part of the problem or are we part of the solution.

We do not have a dictatorship now & I agree that apart from Kwame Nkrumah non of the dictatorships have not helped us. We have other dictatorships in Africa & in other areas now but what developments are we seeing there. We also have some democracies that are developing. So as country Ghana we can do it even with our democracy though it will be difficult and we will need a complete change of mindset and paradigm.

This unbridled partisanship must stop. We need to move from the 4 year paradigm, where every action we take is geared towards the next election. To a legacy mindset where we think about what impacts our actions will have on the next generation and how we can move from the lower middle income with oil & gas to a 1st world within a generation. I am a pragmatic optimist, who believes that we need to change our ways otherwise we will go nowhere. Thank God that in any reaction we just need a little catalyst to make the difference we desire.

So Michael K-Poh what are you doing to get the change we desire. ” are we ready & committed, to collectively accept, coalesce around, & implement the policies & behaviors necessary to take us to the next levels?” If you are and I am we can make the changes we want to see. I disagree with you and you become part of the problem when you say ” Forget the stage and successes chalked by Singapore; we are nowhere close to the factors required to accelerate Ghana to the status presently occupied by Singapore” With a few disciplined people including you and I, and we deciding that we will not be corrupt, lets focus on personal integrity we can change Ghana. Fixing our educational system is not an insurmountable problem, lets be pragmatic about our situation, but not being hopeless in our thoughts. We are part of the leaders and we should not take advantage of temporary pleasures & needs of Ghanaians, to exploit same for political advantage. Yes we need statemen and our political leaders should step up and be counted.

We need to hold them to account. Do you have clue with regards to the real & potential use of power, I am sure you do, if so lets help educate more of us. It is easy to attract great minds, we have a lot who are Ghanaians, I hope me and you can get together to start a movement. See the situation as being half full than being half empty. We can do it & we should do it. Lets start with our little corners and start the change we want to see. Lets not wait for the next person. It is about personal responsibility, integrity and personal non-corruption crusade. LETS DO IT, WE CAN DO IT.

If you have a comment lets have it.

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