Dr. Kofi Amoah, a great businessman and economist, has disclosed that Ghana cannot and should not continue to allow the free entry of goods into its market when it has very little to compete with.
The protectionist approach, according to the Astute, is key for a country like Ghana until such a time she can equally compete by adding value to its many raw materials that are bought for cheap by more advanced economies.
“African countries, thinking they are part of the capitalist system, allowing the free entry of goods into their markets with nothing to compete with, at home or abroad are being exploited.”
Dr. Kofi Amoah
Fleshing out his point, Dr Amoah averred that the time has come for Ghana to define and determine the type of ‘development philosophy and economic architecture’ it wants to adopt.
In the view of Dr. Amoah, the lack of clarity on the above subject is at the core of the economic malaise the country is currently facing.
Dr Amoah believes that this development philosophy and economic architecture conversation should be paramount in the decision of who and which party leads the country ahead of the 2024 General Elections.
Capitalist system and its ideology, which mandates that there should be the free entry of goods from and into each member’s territory, according to Dr. Amoah, does not bode well for Ghana and many developing countries.
Free Trade
Speaking on Free Trade, Dr. Kofi Amoah divulged that the core of Ghana and Africa’s struggles for progress in the 21st Century is the issue of which economic ideology and programs would be best suited, considering the existing global economic structure and Africa’s history with colonialism and exploitation
“Africa exports like primarily raw materials, minerals, unprocessed goods are taken for cheap. Africa imports most of her critical items for survival and modern-day living. These includes medicines, vehicles, clothing, home goods and practically all of her manufactured products.
“The capitalist system and its ideology mandate that there should be free entry of goods from and into each member’s territory.”
Dr. Kofi Amoah
According to Dr. Amoah, China, in her initial stages of development, knowing it didn’t have much to compete with and didn’t want her domestic market to be swamped with imports of higher quality and cheaper prices, elected not to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) until she was ready.
“This protected China’s internal market for local producers, initially with lower-quality products. Through a ‘learning-by-doing’ gradualist approach, the Chinese became very efficient in quality with low prices before joining the WTO to open her borders to trade with the rich, and advanced countries.
“Smart China took over mega global industries with their home-grown manufacturing prowess and has now risen to the Number 2 spot on the list of the large economies of the world, expected to become No 1 within a decade or less.”
Dr. Kofi Amoah
Meanwhile Dr. Amoah stipulated that Ghana, the contrived poster child of democracy by the West, has gone to the IMF 14 times to be re-schooled in how to be a ‘good boy’ with conditionalities and assurances for the continuous rape of our resources at bottom prices.
According to the Economist, the next upcoming elections for all African countries but especially for Ghana must have on the ballot ‘The type of development philosophy and economic architecture.’
“Africa must adopt to help finally unfree ourselves from the shackles of what Dr Kwame Nkrumah aptly called NEO-COLONIALISM and IMPERIALISM. We must face this squarely to prevent another century of Africa’s exploitation. Whether we like it or not, we have become the laughing stock of the world in the 21st Century when almost all regions of the world have figured out the simplicity of development and progress.”
Dr. Kofi Amoah
