Selling Ghana To Ghanaians

The Professionals and Entrepreneurs Network (PEN) is a newly formed professional organization made up of Physicians, Lawyers, Accountants, Engineers, Bankers, Architects, Nurses, Teachers and the list goes on and on. One of PEN’S major goals is to foster a cordial relationship between the professionals of this country and any sitting government; to offer our diverse professional knowledge for the Better Ghana Agenda of the NDC government.

It is true that the current world economic downturn has made it difficult or impossible for most advanced nations to continue their good gestures of donations and financially supporting developments in poor countries like Ghana. Most of these rich nations are now bleeding profusely in their financial and capital markets let alone donates to poor countries. The sad thing is that these rich nations are now banking on the poor countries to recoup their lost investments. Majority of these donor countries and their private investors are turning to poor African nations like Ghana with her newly found oil & gas industry to redeem themselves financially.

We Ghanaians must therefore wake-up from our slumbers and knows that these so call foreign investors are only interested in their investments. There was a recent study by a professor at KNUST that every dollar invested in Africa by a foreign investor; they take away seven dollars in returns.. PEN is of the opinion that they should keep their one dollar investment and Ghana keeps her seven dollars endowments.

The government, foreign investors and to a lesser extent individual local investors has always been seen as the engine of growth in this country. These have always been the equation for developments because we always depend on the government to undertakes projects to bring about employment whiles the government (since independence) on the other hand depends on the IMF and other foreign investors. PEN strongly believes in the Better Ghana Agenda but what we disagree is our huge reliance on foreign investors. Just think about the Mining Industry and their attendants’ destructions of the mining communities; pollution of rivers and their contents, destruction of the landscape resulting in poor farming yields and the alarming rate of disease prevalence in these communities. PEN’S simple advice to the NDC government is to consider taking out the IMF and private foreign investors out of the equation for development.

PEN acknowledges the fact there is a huge capital requirement constraint on the government and individual local investors for the Better Ghana Agenda but we have also seen the vision; the vision that will bring about a rapid development of this nation without depending on the IMF or private foreign investors.. PEN'S solution is so simple that it baffles our own imaginations. The country’s much needed huge capital investments leys at our own backyards; among ourselves and with us as Ghanaians. It is true that a journey of a million miles begins with a step and most great inventions of our time were born at the kitchen table. The great old GOD in His own infinite wisdom has given us the vision of the roadmap to “The Promised Land “. Now it is up to us as a people to rise-up to the occasion;

being call to arm and to strengthens our nation. PEN believes that other African countries will copy-cut this noble idea so as a brainchild Ghana should fully utilize this concept.

We as a country should not and will not sell our endowments to foreign interest. The visionary Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was able to secure this country in those dark ages fiber optics which is the backbone of information technology of this generation only to be sold out during a short period of hardship. Sales of national assets are still ongoing because according to the Minister for Information Hon. Haruna Idrisu (5/11/09 on MTV) the government is currently seeking partnership with private foreign investors to reopen VALCO. Dear reader be informed that VALCO was partially closed down because the private foreign investors pull-out due to the recent world economic meltdown.. This practice must stop; we can not go about begging for foreign investors. The fact is that when the buyer realizes that the seller is so desperate he determines the price. Desperately looking for an investor does not give the country a sound leverage to negotiate for a better deal.

The simple solution that PEN has come up with is “Selling Ghana to Ghanaians”. The “GHANA FOR GHANAIAN INVESTORS CONCEPT” seeks to give Ghana back to Ghanaians to invest and to manage as rightly stated by Dr. Nkrumah at the country’s independence that the Blackman is capable of managing his own affairs. **If we estimate working Ghanaians alone in the diasporas at two million (more than that) and each buying a share of a thousand dollars minimum to a five thousand dollars maximum, we will realize a whooping two to five billion dollars investment capital. We can also raise an equally huge capital internally here at home. With this huge capital, we can enter Oil Refinery, Petrochemicals industries, Banking etc.

PROPOSED STRUCTURES:

1) PEN will arrange and coordinate forums through Ghana Embassies, Ghanaian Associations, Ghanaian Churches, Business Groups, and Ghanaian Based Radio Stations etc to sell “Ghana to Ghanaians” in the diasporas. Will do likewise here at home in Ghana

2) PEN will construct a website and open a special “Ghana for Ghanaian Investor” (GGI) Account.

3) PEN will lobby government for special investment codes like free government lands, tax holidays etc for GGI.

4) A voluntary technical team to study the concept and make recommendations.

5) PEN to act as an Interim Board until a permanent Board of Directors are elected.

PROPOSED INVESTMENT PROJECTS:

PEN thus propose a second Oil Refinery, Petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Banking, Hospitals, Mining, Air and Railway transportation etc. under GGI. PEN also welcomes suggestions of other viable ventures from the public. PEN again believes that government or individuals alone can not take the country to the “Better Ghana Agenda” but collectively as a people guided by Honesty, Transparency, Hard work and a Common Vision will get to the Promised Land of a Better Ghana. May GOD Bless our Homeland Ghana, AMEN.

PEN. penghana@yahoo.com