Unleashing and Unearthing the Tourism Potential of Ghana

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• Kweku Donsuro 9 years ago

  An educative and entertaining article though very long and fit for a journal. Keep it up.

  An educative and entertaining article though very long and fit for a journal. Keep it up.

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• francis kwarteng 9 years ago

  Brother Kwesi,
  
  This is another masterpiece! Well informed! Your ecominc analyses are on point!
  
  I still wonder how much leverage Milton Friedman's economic theories (the Chicago school) still holds today (after his view ...
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  Brother Kwesi,
  
  This is another masterpiece! Well informed! Your ecominc analyses are on point!
  
  I still wonder how much leverage Milton Friedman's economic theories (the Chicago school) still holds today (after his views have overthrown Keyneysian economics).
  
  I do know for a fact that his views were popular (and many of them still are today) and influential during Ronald Reagan's presidency.
  
  Milton Friedman has had serious ctitics, however. Paul Krugman, another Nobel Laureate (Economics) and former professor at Princeton University, has criticized some of Milton's major economic ideas!
  
  Meanwhile, Krugman had to leave Princeton, allegedly over his own economic and political ideas, which some American leading economists, political scientists, and philosophers say have brought the name of Princeton (Ivy League) into disrepute!
  
  Noam Chomsky, an MIT linguist, philosopher, political theorist, an author of over hundred books, the originator of "generative grammar," a scholar whose eclectic writings have influenced music theory, mathematics, theory of computer programming, artificial intelligence, etc., has also criticized some of the major ideas of Milton.
  
  Then, Naomi Klein, a very influential Canadian social activist, made international headlines with her bestselling book "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Klein's book too critically indicts Miltonian economics on several fronts! This is one book our leaders and economists should be reading!
  
  Those notwithstanding, I strongly accept the prescriptions you outlined here for salvaging the dying economy! We need them urgently!
  
  As an aside, I vividly recall readng many years about Kwame Nkrumah allegedly having an amorous Hanna Reich. There had also been numerous rumors about Hanna Reich and Adolf Hitler! What a strange coincidence!
  
  Very eclectic, your masterpiece!
  
  Well done!

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• Kwesi Atta Sakyi 9 years ago

  Hi Francis, your feedback is pregnant with a lot of insight. As if you knew, I have never liked Friedman for his mean ideas which led to SAP, and other awful policy prescriptions which spelt doom for millions across the world ...
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  Hi Francis, your feedback is pregnant with a lot of insight. As if you knew, I have never liked Friedman for his mean ideas which led to SAP, and other awful policy prescriptions which spelt doom for millions across the world. Typical dyed in the wool capitalist who would squeeze water out of stone. His ideas led to inhumane economic policies implemented under Margaret Thatcher and Reagan. He once said on CSR,'The business of business is business. Business has no business doing the business of government by undertaking welfare projects under Corporate Social Responsibility since businesses pay tax for that. Therefore CSR is double taxation.' Well these are not his exact words but he said something to that effect. He lived up to beyond 90years and advised 5 American presidents. He was terrible.

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• KKO 9 years ago

  Excellent piece, Kwesi,
  Unfortunately, it is exactly because Keynesian Economics did not work in the UK that Maggie abandoned it. Closing down failing state industries and selling others seemed callous at first but that is w ...
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  Excellent piece, Kwesi,
  Unfortunately, it is exactly because Keynesian Economics did not work in the UK that Maggie abandoned it. Closing down failing state industries and selling others seemed callous at first but that is what made Britain wealthy. The state was subsidising hopeless industries that only existed to call strikes at the least provocation. Productivity was abysmal.
  
  Selling council houses to their tenants is what created the Britain's own "Property owning Class" and made it rich again. The offshoot of the collapse of British industry was the creation of a vibrant service industry. That is what has kept Britain in the "Premier League" of high performing nations!
  
  We need to move away from state sponsorship of everything. The collapse of GIHOC should serve a useful lessons to Ghanaian politicians. It just does not work. I saw it at Aboso Glass Factory, Bonsa Tyres, and through my friends, GIHOC Distelleries and others. The politicians simply use them to create non-viable jobs for their supporters and cronies to loot state resources!
  
  If we shall ever challenge the East African giants, especially Kenya, in tourism, it should be left in the hands of private enterpreneurs, as in Kenya. Government should only be there to regulate. Government has no business susidising hotels and motels. That is how the State Hotels Corporation collapsed.
  
  You are right, if our district assemblies begin to be run along "partisan" political lines tomorrow, instead of the current charade, a lot of knowledgeable Ghanaians home and abroad, will enter and make it more functional. It will also create the fertile ground for developing national level politicians, instead of the current crop of SSS failures whose only raison d'etre is the ability to hurl insults at their betters in bad English and Twi!

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• James 9 years ago

  Thanks. A long but interesting article. I all the city and district councils can name all their streets and digitally number the properties they can collect enough money to improve their roads and provide adequate sanitary fa ...
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  Thanks. A long but interesting article. I all the city and district councils can name all their streets and digitally number the properties they can collect enough money to improve their roads and provide adequate sanitary facilities for their populations. I they do a good job the people would be happy to continue to pay the rates. We don't have to wait for central government for everything. We can even organise annual district, regional and national competition to serve as an incentive.

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• YAW 9 years ago

  These days it is more accurate to liken our politicians to an elected pen robbers.I doubt whether they will pay attention to all the salient points you have raised.Worth reading but far too long.

  These days it is more accurate to liken our politicians to an elected pen robbers.I doubt whether they will pay attention to all the salient points you have raised.Worth reading but far too long.

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• Kwadwo 9 years ago

  Excellent point. But sadly we can't even clean our gutters let alone our fecal filled lagoons. The gutter in front of my house at Sakomono only drains when I visit Ghana.

  Excellent point. But sadly we can't even clean our gutters let alone our fecal filled lagoons. The gutter in front of my house at Sakomono only drains when I visit Ghana.

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• diamond crorkz 9 years ago

  H2mE0m F*ckin' tremendous things here. I'm very glad to see your article. Thanks a lot and i'm looking forward to contact you. Will you please drop me a mail?

  H2mE0m F*ckin' tremendous things here. I'm very glad to see your article. Thanks a lot and i'm looking forward to contact you. Will you please drop me a mail?

  reply