Don't use remittance to score political points

Many Ghanaians believes that the nation’s economic status is currently on solid foundation due to relieve from the HIPC initiatives and good economic management from the NPP administration policies. The fundamental probability to this assumption is just 25% truth in these funding, that the forces behind the solid economic foundation in Ghana is the current administration policies.

The true forces behind the nation’s solid economic foundation are our foreign assets. These assets are Ghanaians who are living outside Ghana, their strong economic input towards the nation economic have sustained our nation. The combination of macro economy, fiscal polices, and the monetary policies have sustained the currency and reduced the national interest rates. In essence, the current administration wants to utilize the input from the Ghanaians abroad to score an economic political point and ignore the fact that it was these Ghanaians efforts which have redeemed the nation’s economy. It was as a result of their efforts that this has attracted some foreign investment institutions like IFC to lend money for Ghanaian bankers to invest in small loans initiatives in the banking system in Ghana. This remittance has helped the nation’s private entrepreneurs, and it has encouraged foreign investors to support our nation’s businesses. The remittances have benefitted the bank of Ghana and other banking institution across the country due to the circulation of foreign currencies on a daily basis. Based on the government’s economic data; the estimate of our monthly remittances through Ghanaians abroad to Ghana’s economy is 100 million to 120 million dollars. These inputs have increased the nation’s Gross National Product (GNP) for the last five years. Through these remittances, the burden of the bank of Ghana has reduced in regard of balancing the nation’s current account system for past six years. That has magnetized many investors and other nations to acknowledge that Ghana’s economy is in solid foundation. Since the fifty years of our nations in independence, Ghanaians who were the exodus has become the benefit for our nation’s to acquire foreign assets. These individuals have educated themselves in many professional sectors and have become creative in ideas that the nation needs in the future. They have built a solid education foundation for their children who are also the next generation of our dear nation.

As Karl Marx once said, “A nation that produces people who are creative with new ideas and educated its people always succeed in economic developments”. Many Ghanaians who are living abroad has become self-sufficient through their education in both Ghana and out side. As result they are able to invest in human capital for their extended families this is imperative of our nation’s economic success in the near future. The nation’s economy will continued to depend on Ghanaians abroad once the government is not improving the manufacturing sector and the nations industries.

I urge you to continue to work hard for the integrity and commitment for our nation’s economic future. As citizen, we should continue to assist our nation better, and not to rely on what our nation could do for us.

Nana Kofi Amankwah (New York)

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