Sunday 11 March 2018

An Open Letter To Hon. Kwamena Duncan, Ghana's Central Regional Minister

Dear Hon. Kwamena Duncan,

If recent Ghanaian media reports are to be believed, getting the sugar factory at Komenda to become a sustainable and viable agri-business entity, is apparently a major challenge for the government of which you are such a prominent member.

That sugar factory is a classic on-the-ground-manifestation of the wise saying: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." It is also a case-study in  how governments of the day in Ghana should not set up factories and other businesses, as desperate job-creation policy measures.

Sir, it also needs pointing out that there are many ordinary people in our homeland Ghana, who are of the opinion that the vast majority of the membership of our nation's political class are hard-of-hearing individuals, who, regardless of what they say to the contrary, are actually in politics solely to take their net worth to stratospheric heights, by all stealth-means-necessary. Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu awaits them all.

A firm belief of many of those selfsame Ghanaians, is that it is precisely that vampire-elite-mentality, which  is responsible for the saddling of Mother Ghana with poorly-thought-through projects, such as the sugar factory at Komenda that is said to be on the road to becoming  an agro-industrial white elephant.

Sir, politicians who never tire of telling the world that they believe nations prosper only when their national economies' private-sectors drive economic growth, ought to walk the talk, so to speak. However, they must focus on companies and  entrepreneurs who commit to the UN SDGs and anchor their businesses on corporate good governance  principles, and are individuals with moral compasses who are ethical in all spheres of their lives.

One's humble advice to you and your colleagues in the Akufo-Addo administration, therefore, is to abandon all your plans  for the sugar factory at Komenda, and quickly extend an invitation through Ghana's High Commissioner to Uganda, to the CEO of the Madhvani Group of Companies' profitable  subsidiary, Kakira Sugar, for joint-venture discussions aimed at giving that forlorn sugar factory at Komenda, a new lease of life.

They could also revive the sugar factory at Asutuare - and partner Ghanaian entrepreneurs interested in the government's  1-district-1-factory initiative across the nation. Cool.

And whiles we are  at it, may I also make the point  that  what Ghana needs to do in the aviation sector, now that the Africa Union (AU) has a one-open-sky policy, is to approach the founder of  Norwegian Air Shuttle and Norwegian Long Haul, Bjørn Kjos, for joint venture talks aimed at the setting up of a low-cost pan-African airline connecting major cities in  Africa with  other continents, with Accra as its main hub and gateway to the rest of the world, for dynamic and ambitious young Africans across the continent. Affordable air travel is key to growing Ghana's tourism industry - which has the potential to earn Ghana tens of billions of dollars annually: creating wealth that remains in Ghana and jobs galore for young people across Ghana.

Sir, why don't you also have a word with the highly-intelligent CEO of the Ghana Trade Fair Company,  Dr. Agnes Adu, and advice her to approach Carin Kindbom,  the President and CEO of Sweden's leading exhibition and convention centre company The Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre Group, about a joint venture between their two companies?

Finally, although  I loathe your New Patriotic Party (NPP), with a passion,  like many patriotic citizens of our country, I back President Akufo-Addo 100 percent - because in additiin to providing free second-cycle education,  he is also committed to protecting what is left of our nation's natural heritage: so that future generation's of our people  can, at the very least, anchor their quality of life and well-being on the  natural capital  he bequeaths to  them. Food for thought for you and your ministerial colleagues.

Thanks - and kind regards.

Yours in the service of Mother Ghana,

Kofi.


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