Ghana beyond aid must be backed by action – Economist

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

An economist with the University of Ghana Economics Department has deplored the rhetoric that has accompanied the government’s Ghana beyond aid policy.

Professor Peter Quartey said the country can only be weaned off donor support if the government’s commitment is seen more in actions than in words.

At the moment the policy shift has seen more rhetoric than practical steps to achieve the objective, the economist lamented on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Monday.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo drew applause over the weekend when he told a gathering of foreign presidents and educationist in Senegal the continent has enough resources to fund the education of its citizens.

The president, who has promised to build a Ghana beyond aid, said Africa cannot continue to depend on the benevolence of donors when it has more natural resource.

“I am not saying that to turn my back or to be ungrateful to all these important or noble people who have committed themselves to help, no,” president Akufo-Addo clarified.

But Professor Quartey said the policy must be backed by actions if Africa is to be weaned off donor support.

“If we want to exit…we should have a structured programme,” he said

Supporting the position of the economist, IMANI-Ghana president, Franklin Cudjoe said Ghana beyond aid should move beyond the "mere slogan."

“There should be some milestone,” he told Daniel Dadzie who sat in for show host Kojo Yankson.

With the latest figures showing a dwindling donor support to Ghana and other African nations, Mr Cudjoe has suggested intra-Africa trade as the solution to dependence.

"There are numerous opportunities such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)," he said, adding Africans should be getting a "billion" out of their natural resources.