By Edward Azumah “Mansuls” Adam, Deputy Executive Director-Aid to the Vulnerable Foundation (AIDVU),member,Ghana coalition of NGOS in local governance network (LOGNET), Ashanti region.
We are in one World Capitalist system and third world countries have assumed the role of producing raw materials to feed Western industries which brings about unequal exchange value. Though Capitalists do advise Third World countries, like African countries to industrialise before they can develop, but without the government’s protection of local industries, we would have to compete with Capitalist giants who will only weaken our industries. A condition attached to industrialization by capitalists is the government not intervening in the market which capitalists call “laissez faire i.e. (Let things alone), is going to leave our local industries at the mercy of foreign industries.
There should be strong polices in the National Development Plan which will prevent capitalist giants from dominating and damping their goods on the market, and make the local industries comfortable and operate smoothly. There is no doubt that the local industries can make the economy strong enough to take care of our social imperatives, but we ought to protect them as well.
The National Development Plan must be of interest to everyone. All political parties must embrace the National Development Plan idea, because that is what we need to forge the way forward. The challenges that we are all facing today are as a result of our style of leadership, as a result of no any futuristic development plan. We spend too much money on roads, schools; hospitals etc. and forget about the sectors that do generate revenue for the country. When that happens, you will definitely go and get loans. If you do not take care, the loans will be used for infrastrure and the circle of going in for more loans will increase and the national debt will keep on increasing.
It is about time we as Ghanaians accept to use the National Development Plan being developed, irrespective of which political party that mooted the idea. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the only person to implement a national development plan and look at how he achieved so much less than eight years in power. All political parties should think of Ghana’s interest first, embrace it, contribute constructive ideas; ordinary citizens too must also contribute suggestions as to how he/she wants to see the country become some years later.
A Politician hiding under the cloak of an academician, writing books and giving theoretical solutions to the challenges of the economy and using that to campaign, is not the best of a patriot. Let us take a cue from the Americans, the British, the Germans, Malaysians, whose belief is, defend the interest of your country first, irrespective of which political party is in power. America’s foreign policy world-wide is, for example, heavily weighted in favour of the American interest first. We must choose patriotism over greed, selfishness and lust for power at all cost to loot and share. Ghanaians are wide awake and need “Factis non verbis” meaning “Deeds not Words”.
The National Development Plan must contain constructive collective ideas, and Opposition political parties must come on board, roll their sleeves and contribute if indeed they have the nation at heart and genuinely want the nation to develop.
