Deputy Director of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and aspiring NDC Greater Accra Regional Officer, Nii Tetteh Laryea Cyril, has praised President John Dramani Mahama for using his recent international engagements to present a broader economic vision for Ghana and the African continent.
According to him, President Mahama’s message went beyond Ghana’s immediate interests and focused on the need for African countries to change the way they produce, trade and derive value from their natural resources.
Speaking on Ahotor FM’s Yepe Ahunu programme, Nii Tetteh Laryea said the President’s speeches should be viewed within the context of Africa’s long-standing challenge of exporting raw materials while importing finished products manufactured from those same resources.
He argued that African countries must increasingly process their own raw materials, manufacture finished products and strengthen trade among themselves.
“This is the new paradigm. This is the new course that we have to take,” he said, describing President Mahama’s message to African leaders.
Africa must add value to its resources
Nii Tetteh Laryea said Africa is endowed with significant mineral and agricultural resources but continues to lose economic value because much of its raw materials are exported without sufficient processing.
He said countries across the continent must build industries capable of transforming raw materials into finished products, arguing that this would create jobs, generate foreign exchange, strengthen local industries and enable African countries to retain a greater share of the wealth generated from their resources.
He cited Ghana’s cocoa industry as an example, arguing that although Ghana is a major producer of cocoa, much of the economic value is generated after raw cocoa leaves the country and is processed into chocolates and other finished products.
He said Ghana must therefore move beyond simply producing and exporting raw cocoa and develop stronger domestic capacity to process the commodity into finished and semi-finished products.
A new direction for Africa
Nii Tetteh Laryea said President Mahama’s message was effectively encouraging African leaders to adopt a new approach to economic development.
He maintained that the continent should not continue depending heavily on other parts of the world to process its resources and manufacture products that African countries subsequently import.
According to him, African countries, including Ghana, must identify their competitive advantages and develop the industrial capacity required to benefit fully from their natural resources.
He also argued that stronger intra-African trade could help countries on the continent retain more wealth within Africa while creating opportunities for businesses to expand into regional markets.
Ghanaian diaspora can support development
Nii Tetteh Laryea also highlighted the role of the Ghanaian diaspora in national development.
He said Ghanaians living outside the country should be viewed as an important resource whose knowledge, skills, investment and international experience could contribute to Ghana’s development.
He argued that the country must create conditions that encourage people to work, invest and establish businesses in Ghana, while also creating opportunities for Ghanaians abroad to contribute their expertise and resources to the country.
He said the broader objective should be to create an economy capable of providing opportunities for citizens both at home and abroad.
Nii Tetteh Laryea maintained that Africa’s development ultimately depends on its ability to build its own productive capacity rather than remaining primarily a supplier of raw materials to external markets.
Story by Stephen Kwaku Owusu Mintah