Ghanaians in the diaspora want to invest, but the government is not helping them

Ghanaians in the Diaspora are constantly being reminded to help Ghana, but the government doesn’t care about them. Even though they are playing a significant role in Ghana’s development and economic prosperity, successive Ghanaian governments have not given much attention to helping them.

Even though every Ghanaian leader knows the importance of Ghanaians in the Diaspora as their remittances of foreign exchange to the country have been supportive and beneficial to the economy, their problems are overlooked.

After many years in Europe, I bought a piece of land from a traditional chief and invested a sum of 10,000 Euros to set up a small business in the country.

Unfortunately, I lost both the land and the investment because that chief preyed on Ghanaians living outside the country. The plot he sold to me has already been sold to multiple buyers.

Why should a chief be involved in such a crime? He did that because he knows that the judiciary system in Ghana is not only corrupt but too weak to prosecute a chief and put him on trial. Such unpunished crimes are some of the reasons people are not serious to invest in Ghana.

Lots of arguments, insults, abuse of power, and the loss of confidence in Ghana’s judiciary system have increased more rapidly under the current Ghanaian leader, Nana Akufo Addo, than under any other government, but the problem remains the same.

When a country’s economy begins to show weakness and the currency also starts depreciating, it means the country lacks investment. That’s when the NPP government has to encourage investors from foreign countries.

Unfortunately, massive corruption at the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority has increased so significantly that it has affected tariffs on the importation of goods into the country. High customs duties on business goods and the corruption behind them are some of the most painful experiences to go through.

Therefore, many Ghanaians in the Diaspora willing to start businesses in Ghana have completely lost confidence in the current Ghanaian government to invest, one of the reasons the economy has collapsed.

Imagine bringing to Ghana a small vehicle at a cost of about 4,000 Euros. At the port in Ghana, you will likely pay almost the same price for the duty on that vehicle. This is not normal since there are no Ghanaians in the Diaspora that will be encouraged to help Ghana.