Most Africans are poorer today than they were 50 years ago. Why is poverty
worse in many African countries today after over 50 years of political
independence? It is disheartening to note that Ghana, once the beacon of hope in
Africa, a country so blessed with many natural resources, and at the
time of independence with a GDP larger than South Korea cannot meet
it's basic needs after half a century of political independence. Over
40% of its citizens survive on less than a dollar a day, have no access
to clean drinking water, uninterrupted electricity, basic health
services, and formal education. What went wrong? Where did the promise
and the dream go? Yet any pragmatic discussion on the country’s economic situation
degenerates into bickering partisanship, name calling,
insults, heated tribal arguments that fail to identify the
problems let alone address them. No wonder we are stagnating in our
development efforts and even going backwards in some respects. Why is it that an
idea that seemed so right : political independence - taking
charge of running your own affairs - has proved so wrong?

All across the continent there has been massive leadership failures.
These monumental leadership failures has trapped Africa in a vicious
circle of corruption and even greater poverty. Not that no progress has
been made at all. The little progress hat has been made has not trickle
down to the ordinary folks of the World's poorest continent on whose
back this little progress were made; The poor farmers in the rural
areas, the hard working women who carry wares on their head day in and
day out servicing the informal sector of their countries economies. The
farmers who till the land daily to produce that cocoa that earns the
foreign
exchange for the country yet has no electricity and no clean drinking
water and medical facility to attend when he falls sick. Their children
study under trees.


The insatiable and incurable greed
of the African politician condemns these hardworking folks to perpetual
poverty. Bloated, inefficient bureaucracy swallows up any gains that
should have gone to make life a little comfortable for these farmers
while corrupt and venal ministers buy fleets of new 4x4 cars and travel
business and first class on planes to meetings and conferences no one
cares about. In Ghana under NPP government of John Agyekum Kuffour,
government ministers and appointees were quickly whisked abroad for
treatment at the slightest hint of a headache for supposedly better
equipped hospitals where they could receive better treatment. They were
avoiding Korle Bu, Komfo Anokye, Effia
Nkwanta etc, etc,like a plague because of their own failure to equip
these hospitals and expand them to provide top notch medical services
for all Ghanaians. Even deputy ministers, special assistants, and
presidential hangers on were all whisked around in motorcades led by
police sirens to avoid the chaotic traffic situation in Accra and Kumasi
created by their own failure to think and expand the road network. I
read that in Kenya today, ministers use helicopters to avoid traffic
jams again created by their own failure to build roads with millions of
dollars of loans from the European Union and EU Central bank for that
very purpose. Under the current NDC government of Attah Mills, part of
the money meant for the Achimota - Ofankor road project is used by a the
sector minister to get himself a brand new luxury BMW 740Li .


Failure to invest in the people
through pragmatic and prudent economic policies backed by selfless and
honest leadership the dream of reducing poverty will remain a fleeting
illusion.Putting policies in place that will boost the private sector to
invest at the grassroots to create jobs for the people who will receive
salaries and then spend it on buying essential goods and services such
as clothing and food. This money goes around and in classic Keynesian
terms the economy is boosted. In such ways more people can be lifted out
of poverty. It happened in China, it is happening in India and it is
time for this to take off in Africa.We need to take advantage of the
opportunities in the global economy to make real results for our
people..Africa's future is in our own hands.
There is no lack of resources, no deficiency of know how. What we need
is effective planning, putting country first and banishing greedy
selfish interests.

Ben Ofosu-Appiah,
Tokyo, JAPAN.

The author is a senior political and social analyst, policy strategist based in
Tokyo, Japan. He welcomes your comments;
do4luv27@yahoo.com