Competitiveness and cost-reduction are ideals that have not been achieved under any political or economic system anywhere; it continues to be an ideal. China is not eating the lunch of most western developed nations because o ... read full comment
Competitiveness and cost-reduction are ideals that have not been achieved under any political or economic system anywhere; it continues to be an ideal. China is not eating the lunch of most western developed nations because of competitiveness but because of the abundance of cheap labor extracted from 1.6 billion potential workers held in check by a political system. Prices have not gone down in the USA or any other western industrialized nation even as cut-throat competition has led to mega mergers in every business sector.
In Ghana we are held hostage at every turn in every business sector. Did we see prices go down in the telecommunications sector? Heck no; we saw proliferation of Telcom service providers but prices have steadily risen since the sale of Ghana Telecom. We traded lack of efficiency, competition and effectiveness for high prices, delusions and strain on our electricity production and distribution system as more and more people bought cell phones while indoor plumbing and toilet facilities, public or private, became rare. There is not a single year in the world where prices have gone down across the board even as oil prices have tanked. Did we not hear from the business world that oil drove economies? Free markets are supposed to bring about competitiveness and lower pricing; it has not happened anywhere and Ghana is no exception.
Competitiveness and cost-reduction are ideals that have not been achieved under any political or economic system anywhere; it continues to be an ideal. China is not eating the lunch of most western developed nations because o ...
read full comment