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.

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.

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.

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!

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!














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Is African Union on wrong side of history on Libya?

Libyan rebels advance into Tripoli for the most part came as a surprise to the World. Gaddafi's spin machine was at its best in scaring the hell out of the rebels of the dreadful encounter awaiting them in Tripoli. However, thanks to the braveheart of the rebels and good judgement of residents of Tripoli, the encounter was more or less a drive-through.

Now pondits, Libyan Transitional National Government and other policy makers are debating post-Gaddafi' Libya.

One conspicuous missing link though is the voice of the African Union in all of this. South Africa for example has not been particularly thrilled by the turn of events over the last few days. They actually moved to block a vote at the UN enabling the Libyan TNC funds to settle in.

Much as we all abhor the west meddling in internal African affairs, we have to understand that the Libyan experience is what can be considered blueprint for such operations. Gaddafi is a mad dog who has oppressed his own people for over 42 years, period.

It is about time African Union tilt to the right side of history and support their brothers and sisters in Libya.

Can migration be a positive- sum game for Africa?

The last two decades have witnessed mass emigration of young talents from Africa and other developing countries en route to the North. Experts are quick to point to brain drain (as it is labeled) as one of the factors impeding progress in developing countries. Africa is said to have lost a great deal of its highly skilled talents particularly in the medical field as a result of brain drain.

Critics of brain drain tend to take aim at both the migrants as well as their host nations for enticing and syphoning the best human resources from poor countries who need these talents the most. In truth, Africa has fallen victim to loss of qualified medical doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, and recent university graduates to countries like the United Kingdom, U.S. and the like.

The effect of this vacuum has been amply documented and much talked about.
ome hospitals for example are without qualified doctors and nurses to take care of patients. What I beg to differ is the long term impact brain drain can have on these countries at the receiving end.

Financial returns (running into billions of dollars) in terms of remittances have gone a long way to cushion these economies at a time when donor countries are cutting back thier commitment to Africa. If properly managed, this can go a long way to circumvent any short-term loss due to brain drain.

Another positive impact of brain drain is the skill set these immigrants bring back to thier countries down the road. the reality of this debate is that most of these professionals return later on in thier lives. They often bring to bear their rich experience from their host countries. Most returnees are making a big difference in the medical, education,political and other sectors of the African economy.

In effect, my sense is that, brain drain may not be all that bad.

African Immigrant: Is Good Politics Bad Economics?

African Immigrant: Is Good Politics Bad Economics?: "One would think politics and economics go hand in hand or better still complement each other--afterall, economics was born out of politics a..."

Is Good Politics Bad Economics?

One would think politics and economics go hand in hand or better still complement each other--afterall, economics was born out of politics and it is politicians who implement economic models. However, politics and economics in today terms are set against each other as if they are mutually exclusive.

If you follow the US political debate, you would clearly notice how politics and economics have been striped of their scientific orientation and have now become mere subjective disciplines depending on whose interest it is serving.

It is amazing to listen to the Republicans sheepishly advocating for supply-side stimulus i.e low tax rate for the rich contrary to what their own conservative economists are prescribing--this is clearly not motivated by economics but a political move to please their rich base. In negociating the debt ceiling, the Republicans have indicated they are not interested in the economic welfare of the country, they are only interested in making their rich clientele happy--they have made it clear that tax increase of any kind is off the table but cutting entitlement such as social security and medicare is the way forward.

It is a commonplace in today's democracy to see the opposition incentivised to sabotage the incumbent's economic policies to enable it to take over power--in doing so, innocent citizens get hurt economically and the country loses its pride and stature. This is pointedly not the way democracy was made to function--opposition captures power by dint of presenting credible alternative to the incumbent's policy.

If the advanced democracies are such murky, one can only imagine how it is playing out in Africa--there are reports that in Ghana, government officials are altering vital statistical information to make the incumbent look good.

Politicians should stop manipulating economics for their short-sighted goals.

Politics, Class Struggle and Rock and Roll

As student of politics, it breaks my heart to see how modern day politics is badly played out to the extent that people vying for public offices are shying away from being labeled politicians! Don't get me wrong, politics has always been associated with the game of cat and mouse from the beginning of creation--I remember in my politics 101 class, the first question I encountered was, Politics is a dirty game, dicusss. What is alarming these days though is the frequency and magnitude of lies, deceptions, and misrepresentations we see in politics.

This trend is not only peculiar to Third World democracies such as Ghana where both the ruling and opposition parties are gilty of manipulating facts to serve their end goal. Here in the US, politicians are seen misinforming, inciting, and scaring the public everyday on issues ranging from tax increases, immigration, national deficit, and the President's birth certificate, all in the name of appealing to their base.

The sad part of all these is that most of these issues our politicians are toying with affect the very survival of the working class. If this is not a classic case of class struggle where corporations sponsor politicians to dance Rock and Roll then I personally do not know what this is all about.

Social Media and Africa's Youth

Just over a few years ago, the term "digital divide" was ubiquitous diagnosis for growth and development in poor countries--fast forward to 2011 and one would wonder whatever happened to all the hypes about digital divide?

It must be acknowledged that some progress have been made over the years. People in Africa are using social network such as Facebook, LinkeIn, Twitter and Skype to connect to the rest of the world like never before-- it is indeed refreshing for those of us living miles away from the continent to get such instant access thanks the power of the internet.

I strongly agree with people who think that the dotcom revolution is the best thing to happen to developing countries. Imagine students, workers and leaders from Africa sharing knowledge and information with the rest of the world in real time--I bet my college days would have been less stressful if I had such access to information.

Arab Spring has shown us that the internet has a leg of its own and that no one can stop it. Empowering citizens from poor countries (often saddled with authoritarian regimes) with such vital tool will clearly cut everyone's job out for them. The internet business in Africa and other developing countries must transition for its present awareness stage to critical mass stage. It is up to the world to make this happen.

You know what we say in Africa, when you walk alone, you walk fast but when you walk together, you walk far--lets share this revolution togther.

Leadership Africa Needs: Lagos Governor Example

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos has raised the bar for African leadership and in doing so succeeded to offer new hope for strategic thinking and carefully calibrated public agenda in Africa.

Lagos as we know it (actually used to)was a microcosm of whatever can go wrong in major African cities: saddled with high population density, filth, organized and petty crimes, and so on.

When Governor Babatunde took office in 2007, he decided to spend his political capital to change Lagos for the better. He started by fixing the broken window of the house by way of clamping down on illegal activities such as ad hoc markets that used to block streets and cause endless gridlock, setting up bus routes, forcing "kamikaze" motorcycle-taxi riders to wear helmets.

To mitigate the impact of his hash actions, he decided to harness the newly displaced youth by employing them as street sweepers and traffic cops--he did so to ensure his program sustains.

One may be quick to ask what is so special about all these, but mind you, none of these actions required big budget to implement--all what was needed was common sense and political will to push through unpopular agenda.

Governor Babatunde's example serves as blueprint for how African leaders should look ahead. No wonder he was rewarded by over 81% votes for his reelection. Congratulations Governor.

Oppression in the Name of Resisting Imperialism

Much as dependency syndrome and imperialsm have deep-rooted overture between the West and Africa, these concepts have unfortunately become buzzword for dictators
around the world to justify their atrocities toward their own people. Libya's Quadafi dilusional narrative for clinging to power has been that his people adore him and that the resistance has been formented by western imperialists who want to steal Libya's oil.

Mr. Gbagbo has also justified the unrest in Ivory Coast as an attempt by imperial France and the UN to interfere in their internal affairs--we all know he Gbagbo called for the unrest when he repeatedly failed to concede election defeat and honor the will of the Ivorian people.

What is alarming though is how fast this false narrative is gaining traction among the unsuspecting public. We should all understand that our universe has changed and for that matter what happens in Ivory Coast has a far-reaching implications in Ghana, France, USA if you will. Besides, the so-called imperialists are usually the ones who pick the bill when the dust settles.

Nigeria: Wake the Giant In You

Following this weekend election in Nigeria where the incumbent president, Mr. Jonathan was declared the winner, there are reports of pockets of violence in the Muslem-North, the stronghold of the opposition.

From all indications, the election has been characterized as free and fair by independent observers so it behooves the other candidates to concede and move on.

Nigeria is blessed with so much resources and potentials but unfortunately has been stifled by internal conflicts.

Africa is looking up to Nigeria to get it right this time round and claim its leadership spot on the continent. We are currently witnessing the consequences of prolonging this thing in Ivory Coast and we surely do not want a history repeat.

Elections come and go and for now the next election may sound like an eternity to the opposition but they will be surprised to see how time flies so fast--they can use this period to reinvent themselves and position themselves well for the next election.

One thing most African politicians fail to understand is that an opposition is a very strong pillar in a democracy. So to the opposition, in the interest of promoting democracy in Africa, learn from Ghana's example and accept your loss and let the will of the Nigerian people prevail. Congratulations, President Jonathan.

Life after Gbagbo in Ivory Coast

The news of the arrest of former Ivorian president, Gbagbo was greeted with a sign of relief. This guy who was a university professor and deemed to have known better ignored the wishes of his people and gambled with the precious lives of innocent Ivorians.

In the end, Mr. Gbagbo's gamble did not pay off but the sad part is that he has plunged his country into a precarius and volatile state demanding measured steps going forward.

So far Mr. Quattara (arguably responsible for some of the atrocities) has made all the right calls. I am glad he is shying away from witch-hunting and calling on all Ivorians to look forward. May God grant him wisdom to navigate this tough assignment.

War on the Middle Class

The Repuublican Party has initiated its calculated assault on the middle class all in the name of deficit financing. If they truly want to reduce deficit, why are they saying no to tax increase but yes to slashing of entitlement programs?

Contrary to what the republicans are misinforming us, evidence suggest that reigning in entitlement cost will do very little to reduce long term deficit yet there are compelling demand side argument to fund entitlement not to mention the humanitarian dimension.

The Republican supply side (reverse taxation) is flawed because it only works as best case scenario.

Democracy by the Sword

We should not misconstrue recent interventions in domestic affairs by the international community including the UN to restore the will of the people as isolated cases. These are well-thought through policy to send a message to tyrants that the game has changed and there is a new boss in town who takes no prisoners!

Global stakeholders have eventually learned that what happens in Ivory Coast eg. affects the national interest of the US--just imagine the UN leading a preemtive bombing campaign in Ivory Coast to avoid humanitarian crisis.

Notwithstanding all the conspiracy theories critics offer to discredit such actions, its power of signalling tyrants around the world that their days are numbered cannot be second-guessed.

Where are the jobs?

We all welcome the news that jobless rate keeps dropping in the US.The question is, why aren't the Obama administration laughing out loud over this good news? This is in part because the latest job data has so many caveats it is hard to measure its real impact.

I may be among the minority who see the prevailing high unemployment rate as an issue of national interest--consider the fact that a disproportionate number of the unemployed demographic are youth with some college degree. This trend is clearly diminishing premium society places on higher education.

The disturbing piece of the puzzle is that there are so many things our government can do that it does not have political will to do or doing it half-way because it wants to be politically correct.

Mr. Obama, as you begin the journey of renewing your commitment to the poeple, I implore you to employ the necessary tools to give the youth hope they can believe.