Wednesday, February 5, 2014
African Immigrant: RE: Ghana Does Not Have an Economy
African Immigrant: RE: Ghana Does Not Have an Economy: Dr. Amoah couldn't have been more apt when he argued in his piece on ghanaweb.com posted on February 4, 2014 that Ghana has no economy. ...
RE: Ghana Does Not Have an Economy
Dr. Amoah couldn't have been more apt when he argued in his piece on ghanaweb.com posted on February 4, 2014 that Ghana has no economy. I wholly agree with every fabric of his argument including the fact that the three key sectors of the economy namely 1)agriculture 2) industry 3) finance should be delineated and nurtured. There is a wisdom in David Ricardo's quintessential comparative advantage theory that crudely postulates that a country should engage in economic activities where it has comparative advantage in cost of production, specialization and economy of scale and import only the products it has comparative disadvantage. Can we argue that this is what is happening in Ghana? The answer is sadly no. A brief statistics of the economy of Ghana may suffice here; according the Heritage Foundation: agriculture accounts for 50 percent of employment and 39 percent of exports; obtaining necessary permits to start up a business takes over 200 days; unemployment is 11.0 percent; inflation is 9.2 percent.
A brief analysis of Ghana's balance of trade will present a better perspective of the direction our beloved country has been heading over the decades. Again, to put it crudely, the balance of trade is simply the country's export minus its import, if the result is positive, it registers a trade surplus, on the other hand, if the result is negative, it registers deficit trade. In 2012, Ghana recorded a trade deficit of US$4.2 billion notwithstanding the fact that crude oil export brought in US$3 billion additional revenue.
In the nutshell, what Ghana needs is to develop a niche just as every business entity needs a market niche in order to create a pathway to long term sustainability. We need hybrid crop of leadership who are ready to think outside-the-box and treat the economy at the very minimum like a pseudo corporate entity that needs to be aware of its assets and liabilities. Whatever the pathway we choose as a nation to move forward, agricultural industrialization is the key ingredient. I will leave you with the wisdom that: you are either at the dinner table or on the dinner menu, the choice is up in the air. Visit my blog to have a further discussion on this issue.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
African Immigrant: Paying Respect to Komla Dumor
African Immigrant: Paying Respect to Komla Dumor: The untimely passing of Komla Dumor, one of Africa's greatest sons was deservedly received with shock and empathy. Komla was indeed amon...
Paying Respect to Komla Dumor
The untimely passing of Komla Dumor, one of Africa's greatest sons was deservedly received with shock and empathy. Komla was indeed among the finest in his line of profession--may he rest in perfect peace! Suffice to say that it just occurred to me how life is so agile and how we as humans take the next day for granted. I am sure Komla had planned his week and possibly the month of January packed with activities. indulge me for sounding a bit theological by reechoing the the wisdom that: today is a blessing and tomorrow is a gift so if you want to do something with your life, today is what you got!
I am sure one thing that those of us who knew Komla will all agree is that although he had a short life, he impacted his generation and challenged all of us to strive to break new grounds and develop our distinct personal brand. Komla, your death has personally challenged me to do more for my country and the continent of Africa at large. I pray that you will receive favor from the Lord. Bye for now.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Why Herman Cain was good for Black Politics
Pundits talk of black votes as though it is this homogeneous cohort that is up for grab by anybody just like that. Black leaders following Dr. King have essentially done a disservice to their constituent by failing to advocate for mainstream issues such as economic injustice, skewed unemployment, equal opportunity, etc. These leaders for their opportunistic reasons have tended to represent black people only on the fringes: expanding of welfare programs and vigilante policing.
Their motives may in part be because these are trigger issues that assert their prominence in the community, nonetheless, their actions have had a far-reaching effect on status of black people in America. It was no surprising black leaders were not so enthusiastic about candidate Obama in large part because he refused to introduce himself as black presidential candidate. The rift was so pronounced to the extent that the media started writing about obituary of black politics soon after Obama won the election in 2008 with amusing captions such as "Obama victory symbolizes the dead of black politics". If anything, Obama's presidency represents a moment of decency in black politics in America.
Along came the spoiler, Herman Cain, who is quintessential black man compared to President Obama with mixed background and his father hailing from Kenya, interestingly, Mr. Cain speaks more like rich white republican than President Obama does look white. So now we know of one thing: it is not always the color that makes one black/minority in America, it is economic status. The take home from this is that, econemic justice in America is color blind, period.
It was interesting for Herman Cain of all breeds to play the black card when the going got though for him. Thanks goodness no black person in America sided with him. This is indicative of how black politics has come of age in America.
Their motives may in part be because these are trigger issues that assert their prominence in the community, nonetheless, their actions have had a far-reaching effect on status of black people in America. It was no surprising black leaders were not so enthusiastic about candidate Obama in large part because he refused to introduce himself as black presidential candidate. The rift was so pronounced to the extent that the media started writing about obituary of black politics soon after Obama won the election in 2008 with amusing captions such as "Obama victory symbolizes the dead of black politics". If anything, Obama's presidency represents a moment of decency in black politics in America.
Along came the spoiler, Herman Cain, who is quintessential black man compared to President Obama with mixed background and his father hailing from Kenya, interestingly, Mr. Cain speaks more like rich white republican than President Obama does look white. So now we know of one thing: it is not always the color that makes one black/minority in America, it is economic status. The take home from this is that, econemic justice in America is color blind, period.
It was interesting for Herman Cain of all breeds to play the black card when the going got though for him. Thanks goodness no black person in America sided with him. This is indicative of how black politics has come of age in America.
Friday, October 21, 2011
In Contempt of Democracy
It has been the aspiration of the United nations that all nations across the globe become democratic. What makes democracy more appealing in contrast with dictatorship is its representativeness and the power it gives to the ordinary citizen to affect the affairs of their government. It must be pointed out that anytime this mechanism of representativeness is detached from democracy then we don't have democracy any more, what we have is oligarchy.
Democracy in its purest form is what is referred to as direct democracy as practiced in Ancient Greece. Representative democracy was offered as compromise to the impossibility of direct democracy in ever-growing high population. The idea of representative democracy is for citizens to empower their representatives to make decisions on their behalf. So by default, the people assembly (call it Congress, Parliament, etc) was designed to be embodiment of the true sentiments of the people they represent. Having said this, it must be acknowledged there are varried forms of representative democracy. The US for example takes pride in seperation of powers and checks and balances to minimize concentration of power and undue influences.
Fast forward this to today's realities of Washington politics, what we are witnessing is representative democracy gone wild! Political gridlock and preservation of the so-called Iron Triangle have become the new rule of engagement. Interest group and pay-to-play politics with corporations, big money backers and political expediency have taken the better part of Washington representative democracy. There are some experts who claim gridlock is actually good for America's democracy. I would argue that yes, to some extent, gridlock is good for democracy but as long as the motive behind it is well-intented and more importantly in the interest of the general population. Anything short of this would amount to obstructionism and in fact contempt of representative democracy!
Democracy in its purest form is what is referred to as direct democracy as practiced in Ancient Greece. Representative democracy was offered as compromise to the impossibility of direct democracy in ever-growing high population. The idea of representative democracy is for citizens to empower their representatives to make decisions on their behalf. So by default, the people assembly (call it Congress, Parliament, etc) was designed to be embodiment of the true sentiments of the people they represent. Having said this, it must be acknowledged there are varried forms of representative democracy. The US for example takes pride in seperation of powers and checks and balances to minimize concentration of power and undue influences.
Fast forward this to today's realities of Washington politics, what we are witnessing is representative democracy gone wild! Political gridlock and preservation of the so-called Iron Triangle have become the new rule of engagement. Interest group and pay-to-play politics with corporations, big money backers and political expediency have taken the better part of Washington representative democracy. There are some experts who claim gridlock is actually good for America's democracy. I would argue that yes, to some extent, gridlock is good for democracy but as long as the motive behind it is well-intented and more importantly in the interest of the general population. Anything short of this would amount to obstructionism and in fact contempt of representative democracy!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
African Immigrant: The Unspoken Victims of the Recession (Reloaded)
The US unemployment numbers continue to hover around 9%. Worse still, the fact that zero jobs were created by the US economy this month leads much to be desired. The zero jobs score card may have been a blessing in disgiuse as Washington politicians appear to begin to do something concrete to mitigate the situation.
President Obama was right to posit that the US economic woe is a manmade problem that could be resolved if our leaders put aside short-term partisan/corporate interests and put ahead the interest of the American people. It saddens me to hear the public outcry for lack of leadership in Washington.
Our president has stepped up to the plate repeatedly but he was often greeted by recalcitrant/intransigent Republican-led Congress whose cadinal preoccupation is to make president Obama a one-term president even if it mean sacrificing the economic survival of the American people. Similarly, the president's kind and compromising traits have equally been his own enemy in a sense that hitherto, his common sense/meet-me-half-way approach has rendered most of his policies ineffective and half-measure at best. It seems he has learned his lesson the hard way and he is ready to draw the line in the sand--his decifit reduction speech yesterday signals the new Obama we are going to witness.
As bad as the US economic outlook appears, things are much worse when one takes the trouble to delve into the demographics. Data shows the the distribution of the jobless and foreclosure pain is skewed against American minorities. For example, with national unemployment rate of 9%, the unemployment rate among minorities and age cohort of 25-35 is close to 20%. suffice it to say that if things are so bad for native-born American minorities , what about the foreign-born immigrants?
Surprisingly, no one even talks about how things are shaping up for the immigrants. We have to remember that immigrants are vital component of the American story. The contribution of immigrants to this great nation cannot be gainsaid--for example, 2 in every 5 invention is by an immigrants, not to mention great American immigrants such as Albert Eintein. I challenge our leaders to pay special attention to immigrants who seem to be the most vulnerable among the the group affected by this economic doldrums. We have to keep the American/immigrants dream alive!
to to 2p%
President Obama was right to posit that the US economic woe is a manmade problem that could be resolved if our leaders put aside short-term partisan/corporate interests and put ahead the interest of the American people. It saddens me to hear the public outcry for lack of leadership in Washington.
Our president has stepped up to the plate repeatedly but he was often greeted by recalcitrant/intransigent Republican-led Congress whose cadinal preoccupation is to make president Obama a one-term president even if it mean sacrificing the economic survival of the American people. Similarly, the president's kind and compromising traits have equally been his own enemy in a sense that hitherto, his common sense/meet-me-half-way approach has rendered most of his policies ineffective and half-measure at best. It seems he has learned his lesson the hard way and he is ready to draw the line in the sand--his decifit reduction speech yesterday signals the new Obama we are going to witness.
As bad as the US economic outlook appears, things are much worse when one takes the trouble to delve into the demographics. Data shows the the distribution of the jobless and foreclosure pain is skewed against American minorities. For example, with national unemployment rate of 9%, the unemployment rate among minorities and age cohort of 25-35 is close to 20%. suffice it to say that if things are so bad for native-born American minorities , what about the foreign-born immigrants?
Surprisingly, no one even talks about how things are shaping up for the immigrants. We have to remember that immigrants are vital component of the American story. The contribution of immigrants to this great nation cannot be gainsaid--for example, 2 in every 5 invention is by an immigrants, not to mention great American immigrants such as Albert Eintein. I challenge our leaders to pay special attention to immigrants who seem to be the most vulnerable among the the group affected by this economic doldrums. We have to keep the American/immigrants dream alive!
to to 2p%
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