The so-called professor that tried to embellish Nkrumah's economic record needs to go back to school again. These types of socialists' arguments could deceive Ghanaians in the 50s and 60s but they cannot do so now. Nkrumah wa ... read full comment
The so-called professor that tried to embellish Nkrumah's economic record needs to go back to school again. These types of socialists' arguments could deceive Ghanaians in the 50s and 60s but they cannot do so now. Nkrumah was the first leader to introduce unsustainable debt into this nation by borrowing massively and unnecessarily to finance his whims and caprices. It was a misfortune that we had such a person as president immediately after the independence. He didn't lay a realistic economic foundation for sustainable development in this country considering the amount of money that was at his disposal in those days.
Ghana had about 1bln dollars in reserve when Nkrumah took over the reins of government in this country. Can you imagine the value of one billion dollars in the early fifties? Again, after 2years of Nkrumah's rule, cocoa prices at the world market rocketed and increased fourfold. But contrary to any sound economic planning, he did not reserve any fraction of the windfall for a rainy day, as the Whiteman had done with only one fourth of the revenue he got from cocoa. So, what did he do with all that money from the astronomical cocoa prices and the big reserve he inherited that took years to build for our future financial stability and sustainable development?
Kwame Nkrumah went on a spending spree both in Ghana and around the world, throwing his weight about and talking big. So when the cocoa prices fell close to the end of his rule, he was quick to point accusing fingers at the West, blaming them for manipulating cocoa prices to sabotage the economy of Ghana and overthrow his government. Finally, after misusing all the money mainly on useless prestigious projects, communist agricultural projects, and whimsical mad-rush industrialization projects, he also burdened the young nation with another billion dollars' debt before he was forced out of this country.
The truth is that, Kwame Nkrumah met a rich country with stable economy, and left it nearly bankrupt in few years as a result of gross mismanagement. NDC is following suit to land our nation in HIPC again.
Kwame Adusei-Poku 9 years ago
KWASEA MAHMOUD,wake up ! Do you know what I BILLION DOLLARS means? The British Government left the newly independent Ghana I50 million pounds but Nkrumah borrowed massively for his Seven Year Development Plan which was estim ... read full comment
KWASEA MAHMOUD,wake up ! Do you know what I BILLION DOLLARS means? The British Government left the newly independent Ghana I50 million pounds but Nkrumah borrowed massively for his Seven Year Development Plan which was estimated at I billion pounds.You were not even born in the days of Nkrumah so stop spewing NOnSENSE.
Ken 9 years ago
This Mahmoud guy rather needs to go back to school.Apparently,he was born after Nkrumah had left the political scene so he does not even know that Nkrumah introduced free education from primary school to university level and ... read full comment
This Mahmoud guy rather needs to go back to school.Apparently,he was born after Nkrumah had left the political scene so he does not even know that Nkrumah introduced free education from primary school to university level and free medical care let alone the cost involved.He also doesn't know that the whole of Tema township and the motorway was built by Nkrumah.He also doesn't know that the Tema harbour and the Volta dam was constructed by the Nkrumah regime.This "baby" on Ghanaweb who calls himself Mahmoud also doesn't know that among the several projects Nkrumah embarked upon,were the new Accra Airport,Cocoa Marketing Board,State Insurance Corporation,Bank of Ghana,Ghana Commercial Bank,Agricultural Development Bank,National Investment Bank,Ghana Airways,Black Star Line with sixteen ships,State Hotels corporation,Housing Estates,3 universities,120 secondary schools,42 Teacher Training colleges,75 factories,feeder roads across the country etc.Can this fake Mahmoud tell us the cost of all those projects stated above and also let us know which ones were prestigious.
C.Y. ANDY-K 9 years ago
Ken and Kwame,
Thanks for trying to educate this stark ignoramus. Unfortunately, there are tens of 1000s more from the worm-wood he emerged from. Unless pro-Nkrumaist forces write and published books and articles which can ... read full comment
Ken and Kwame,
Thanks for trying to educate this stark ignoramus. Unfortunately, there are tens of 1000s more from the worm-wood he emerged from. Unless pro-Nkrumaist forces write and published books and articles which can be easily referred to, these elements shall continue to emerge from the dark holes to repeat same outlandish lies.
I myself had on many occasion tried to debunk them in cyber responses such as yours to no avail. But, nonetheless, let me add a few words to yours.
They should be reminded that the "worthless and grandiose projects" Nkrumah allegedly squandered the supposed reserve and the borrowed debt money are the same assets successive govts since the overthrow of the CPP have been divesting at great profit to themselves and to the country. Can they tell us how much has been realised since the 1960s?
Now, as I had pointed out many times, the CPP regime under Nkrumah accumulated that reserve the British allegedly left for us, starting from the boon in cocoa prices due to the Korean War. Yes, thanks to the infamous "anchor of safety" advice by Sir Arthur Lewis and not to increase cocoa prices appreciably which eventually led to the revolt of the cocoa farmers and the formation of the NLM. So these damn UP/NPP supporters ought to know this history!
When the West African Produce Marketing Board was dissolved to pave way for the establishment of the CMB, Ghana received the lion share of the reserves, a mere £19m. It was part of the political folklore from the 1950s that the British tried to convince Gold Coasters to contribute to their war recovery, Marshall Plan, chest but Nkrumah refused while Danquah agreed! True or not, it was one of the CPP propaganda weapons to win against the UGCC, with massive support from the cocoa farmers too.
This history should be taught and be well known to Ghanaians!
Nkrumah didn't squander any reserves, reserves which were not even sufficient to build the Akosombo Dam, let alone all the 100s of devt projects and industries masterminded within such a short span of time. Rather, the NLC, followed by the PP, committed scandalous financial loss to the state by abandoning projects which were even near completion with millions already sunk in.
I have in my files how a Commissioner or so on a tour in the Northern Region "discovered" over 500 abandoned tractors rusting away in the bush in 1967! And there was not a single snow plough among them! The bastards destroyed Ghana patapata!
Andy-K
Kwame Adusei-Poku 9 years ago
FAKE Mahmoud,Kwasea,do you know what ONE BILLION DOLLARS means? Both the British Government and Ghana Government records show that the British Government left the newly independent Ghana 150 million pounds.Nkrumah borrowed ... read full comment
FAKE Mahmoud,Kwasea,do you know what ONE BILLION DOLLARS means? Both the British Government and Ghana Government records show that the British Government left the newly independent Ghana 150 million pounds.Nkrumah borrowed massively for his Seven Year Development Plan which was estimated at 1 BILLION POUNDS.You were not even born in the days of Nkrumah so stop spewing NONSENSE.
Kwadwo 9 years ago
The colonial government left Nkrumah in excess of 250 million pounds
The colonial government left Nkrumah in excess of 250 million pounds
Sato 9 years ago
Very good article. I loved it
Very good article. I loved it
Alex London 9 years ago
Ghana have more MPs with PhDs than most countries both in Africa and the West. Yet look at the mess the country is in. Ghanaians 'worship' qualification. When I completed my masters degree in Accounting and Finance at Lanc ... read full comment
Ghana have more MPs with PhDs than most countries both in Africa and the West. Yet look at the mess the country is in. Ghanaians 'worship' qualification. When I completed my masters degree in Accounting and Finance at Lancaster University, UK before leaving campus I had a meeting with director of studies just to bid him farewell. He asked what my future plans were. I told him that I was going to embark on a PhD programme. He further asked if I was going pursue a career in the academy field. I would be looking for a career in the private sector. He further asked " young man will you please tell me what benefit does PhD offer you in your future career" I stood there for a while and said I don't know. He advised me not to waste my resources. I am glad I did not and I have never looked back
Kwame Poku 9 years ago
Among the endless list of Nkrumah's vital projects,I wonder if this fake Mahmoud can imagine LIFE in Ghana wthout the Volta Dam and Tema Oil Refinery which were established by Nkrumah over fifty years ago.This misinformed,cl ... read full comment
Among the endless list of Nkrumah's vital projects,I wonder if this fake Mahmoud can imagine LIFE in Ghana wthout the Volta Dam and Tema Oil Refinery which were established by Nkrumah over fifty years ago.This misinformed,clueless and fake Mahmoud is a big fool.
Azindo 9 years ago
You have exhausted your piece nicely but sorry to say that, black people and Ghanaians in particular only learn by chewing the words.We reproduce what we see in the book.We seem not to understand the technical words .i bet yo ... read full comment
You have exhausted your piece nicely but sorry to say that, black people and Ghanaians in particular only learn by chewing the words.We reproduce what we see in the book.We seem not to understand the technical words .i bet you go to our high schools and ask them practically how to use 2+2 to solve everyday problem .They will sctract thier heads.they only know that 2+2 is four .
Cant you see ghana for 57rs now we are poor with this blockheaded leaders begging around.our leaders should be ashamed of themselves. Are our leaders not ashamed?
C.Y. ANDY-K 9 years ago
As I hope the writer and some readers are aware of, I have been writing on the subject of intellectuality so I was curious to find out what Alex has to say on the subject. I've to say straight away that I didn't read what I e ... read full comment
As I hope the writer and some readers are aware of, I have been writing on the subject of intellectuality so I was curious to find out what Alex has to say on the subject. I've to say straight away that I didn't read what I expected. The title is misleading or Alex doesn't understand what being an intellectual entails. Perhaps, a blacksmith's knowledge shop is more befitting 'cos that's what he covered, at least. An intellectual, briefly, is actually a highly educated person making comments on a field which is not actually his/her area of specialisation. Yes, universities provide a fertile ground to breed intellectuals but the main breeding grounds for them are multi-disciplinary research institutions, as no institution teaches one to become an intellectual. It is through one own's individual effort and industry in reading broadly beyond one's field of learning. You then combine the knowledge gleaned from different subjects to guide your ideas in making comments, expressing opinions, suggestions of alternatives or support of some measures, solutions, or whatever. In doing that, you may challenge even what the specialists and experts in the fields suggest, are doing, etc. That's what intellectual ferment is all about.
1. I don't think any university teaches a first degree holder to solve problems; talk less of becoming an intellectual. What they do is equip them with some appreciable degree of knowledge to put them in a position to make them trainable to solve specific problems, be able to acquire further knowledge, etc. So after a first degree in Admin, History or English, for instance, a bank may recruit you and train you to become a banker or a Public Relations personnel. In a country like Japan, by rote learning is the norm in their universities and most skills acquisition and research are done in industries. School time industrial attachment, for instance. Not happening any more in Ghana.
I recollect an incidence in Norway. This brilliant, First Class holder from the School of Admin doing his MA was taken on as a research student where I was affiliated too. He saw a Lotus123 book on my desk and decided to use it to practice what he learnt at Legon. He couldn't even log into the programme and needed my assistance to guide him through that. He eventually informed me that the best student in the subject in their year group was recruited by a company in Accra and the unfortunate guy had the same problem first day on the job! The snag? Students at that level are just passed through simulations of already packaged data sets. Yes, just like learning to fly a plane through using one of those simulation rooms. That's not enough to make you a pilot! I helped to prepare students in SPSS to do their Masters and, truth to tell, none of them got the knack of it, as they all planned to avoid choosing topics which would involve statistical analysis. The assignments, hmm, less said the better!
The so-called professor that tried to embellish Nkrumah's economic record needs to go back to school again. These types of socialists' arguments could deceive Ghanaians in the 50s and 60s but they cannot do so now. Nkrumah wa ...
read full comment
KWASEA MAHMOUD,wake up ! Do you know what I BILLION DOLLARS means? The British Government left the newly independent Ghana I50 million pounds but Nkrumah borrowed massively for his Seven Year Development Plan which was estim ...
read full comment
This Mahmoud guy rather needs to go back to school.Apparently,he was born after Nkrumah had left the political scene so he does not even know that Nkrumah introduced free education from primary school to university level and ...
read full comment
Ken and Kwame,
Thanks for trying to educate this stark ignoramus. Unfortunately, there are tens of 1000s more from the worm-wood he emerged from. Unless pro-Nkrumaist forces write and published books and articles which can ...
read full comment
FAKE Mahmoud,Kwasea,do you know what ONE BILLION DOLLARS means? Both the British Government and Ghana Government records show that the British Government left the newly independent Ghana 150 million pounds.Nkrumah borrowed ...
read full comment
The colonial government left Nkrumah in excess of 250 million pounds
Very good article. I loved it
Ghana have more MPs with PhDs than most countries both in Africa and the West. Yet look at the mess the country is in. Ghanaians 'worship' qualification. When I completed my masters degree in Accounting and Finance at Lanc ...
read full comment
Among the endless list of Nkrumah's vital projects,I wonder if this fake Mahmoud can imagine LIFE in Ghana wthout the Volta Dam and Tema Oil Refinery which were established by Nkrumah over fifty years ago.This misinformed,cl ...
read full comment
You have exhausted your piece nicely but sorry to say that, black people and Ghanaians in particular only learn by chewing the words.We reproduce what we see in the book.We seem not to understand the technical words .i bet yo ...
read full comment
As I hope the writer and some readers are aware of, I have been writing on the subject of intellectuality so I was curious to find out what Alex has to say on the subject. I've to say straight away that I didn't read what I e ...
read full comment