Ghana has made meteoric strides in its economy. Over the past 4 years, GDP has grown by 6.08% annually and with it, education, health, and infrastructure have all improved. Prior to this jump in economic growth, Ghana’s economy had started to dip in growth. The country had gone from 7.3% growth to a low of 2.2% growth. Stepping in to bring Ghana back to it’s nearly unrivaled economic expansion was president Nana Akufo-Addo. Seeing a clear need for change President Akufo-Addo passed innovative programs that brought Ghana back up on its feet.
One of the earliest initiatives was the Free Senior High School (FSHS) program, which made all secondary schools free for students in Ghana. From an economic perspective, such an act was necessary. To improve the lives of Ghanaians, via GDP growth, human capital had to be improved. And, the best way to do this was through improvements in education. Young Ghanaians will be able to complete more complex tasks and develop innovations that Western countries may have been unable to produce. As a result, Ghana’s economy has boomed.
President Akufo-Addo had also developed the 7-year coordinated programme of economic and social development. In one segment of the plan, Akufo-Addo hopes to decrease the deficit spending of Ghana to decrease general interest rates. In turn, domestic and foreign investment is likely to occur, creating jobs and economic innovation. Now combined with the aforementioned education program, firms, who will invest at a higher rate, can employ Ghanaians for more complex projects.
One of the most important initiatives of President Nana Addo in his 7 year plan is the promotion of heritage tourism to Ghana. This started with 2019 year-long celebration of the Year of Return that saw massive inflow of tourists from all over the globe to Ghana to join in the remembrance of the forced arrival of the first 22 slaves from Africa to Virginia, US, 400 years ago:
The following year 2020, marked the launching of the Beyond the Return Initiative which was highlighted with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government of Ghana and the New York based W.E.B Du Bois Museum Foundation (www.webdbmf.org), led by a distinguished independent board of directors, for the redevelopment and revival of the current DuBois Memorial Centre into a Museum Complex and as a destination for scholars, artists and heritage tourists alike. The groundbreaking is scheduled for January 2022 with a completion and dedication date of January 2024:
In the Tech field, under President Nana Addo, Twitter recently announced the selection of Ghana as its Headquarters for its operation in Africa. This again, will create jobs in the all -important technology field:
In the fight against the global covid 19 pandemic the European Union just announced that it will consider Ghana as a manufacturing hub for the covid19 vaccines:
The plan has also improved the infrastructure of the nation, via transportation, sanitation and energy investment. For the economy, transportation improvements, in the form of roads and trains, can lead to the urbanization of more regions throughout the country. This will increase the number of jobs, and effectively the output of the economy. And, from economic theories, an increased GDP, creating an increased GDP per capita, will improve the quality of the life of the population.
It is also important to note the economic transition that Akufo-Addo has started. Over the past ten years, Ghana had exported resources, such as cocoa and timber. But, Akufo-Addo is attempting to transition the economy from one that exports such resources to one that refines and creates products that will then be exported or sold to the population. The Ghanaian economy will become more self-sufficient, as it will not have to rely on other countries to purchase their resources. And, these countries can regulate the prices of imports through financial pressure.
With this same idea, by developing products that can be used by the general public, the income level of Ghana will increase. Firms will make more money, creating news jobs, increasing the income throughout the economy. I.E the GDP of the economy will improve, improving the quality of life of Ghanaians.
Akufo-Addo’s economic innovations have boosted the economy of Ghana. And, after his victory in the 2020 presidential election, he will surely add more economic feats to his administration, making Ghana an economic force to be reckoned with.