Empower Ghanaians to own economy - Okyenhene

The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, has urged the government to make a conscious effort to empower Ghanaian entrepreneurs and businesses to have a fair share of the country’s natural resources to sustainably change its economic fortunes.

He said motivating entrepreneurs with access to credit and funds to venture into the mining, oil and gas, and the telecommunication industries was critical for Ghanaians to reap maximum gains from their resources to tackle poverty.

Addressing a durbar of chiefs and people of the Adonten Division of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area at Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region last Friday, the Okyenhene said once the country’s resources remained in the hands of multinational companies and foreign individuals, “we will continue to be tenants in our own country”.

“So, it is about time the government supported our entrepreneurs and businesses to have access to credit and funds since young people today have bankable business plans and yet they cannot find support for funding,” he said.

No country ownership 

Osagyefuo Ofori Panin said: “We do not own our country because our natural resources that will make us rich are in the hands of foreign corporations and individuals”. “The richest eight persons in Ghana today are all foreigners but if I ask you to name 10 Ghanaian millionaires and their source of wealth, it is not known and so we need to restructure and turn the system over to let our people also own part of our resources,” he said.    

Durbar

The durbar, which was part of activities to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Okyenhene’s ascension to the Ofori Panin Stool, attracted chiefs and queenmothers as well as people from all walks of life.

They included the Queenmother of Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area, Nana Dokua; the Adontenhene, Daasebre Boamah Darko, who is also the Kukurantumihene; the Tafohene, Daasebre Adusei Peasah IV, the Etweresohene, Daasebre Ayebeahwe; the Osiemhene, Daasebre Asumadu Appiah, and the Osenasehene, Barima Gyasi Koree.

Others were religious leaders, heads of ministries, departments and agencies, and security personnel. Ahead of the start of the durbar, neatly dressed schoolchildren from basic schools at Kukurantumi lined up the streets, waving miniature flags of the Okyenhene to welcome him to the durbar ground.

Ownership is key

The Okyenhene, adorned in his rich Kente cloth, acknowledged that Ghana was part of the world community and that no one could run away from the interdependency in the global system.

He, however, said it was time Ghanaians owned their country and its natural resources since “ownership is key to development”. “By now, 67 years after independence, we should find some ways to let some Ghanaian entrepreneurs own some of our resources,” Osagyefuo Ofori Panin said.

Questioning the narrative that Ghanaians did not have the expertise and the capital to fund the discovery or development of resources, the Okyenhene said the willingness of the government to aid local entrepreneurs could be a game-changer.

“If we continue to allow our resources to be in the hands of others and there is no end, we will continue to be tenants in our own country,” he said.

Embrace decentralisation

The Okyenhene said what independence gave the people of Ghana was to afford them a complete sovereignty, which included “owning your resources and making sure that the decisions that we make will benefit our people now and in the future.”

He said countries that had made impressive strides in their socio-economic development did so by making indigenous local capital drive a key part of their development. He expressed disappointment that rural Ghana, where 80 per cent of the people lived, had completely been ignored.

“No one has been able to do anything in this world without opportunities and it is saddening that they have never been able to give the people who live in our villages any opportunities for growth.

“So, if you want to grow, upscale and advance, then you have to go to Accra, and living there is a struggle, since the pie or cake is not enough,” the Okyenhene stated. Osagyefuo Ofori Panin, therefore, called for a change of the system to place ownership of resources in the hand of local communities.

“What that does is if you are in control of your resources and the people who are in control are regional indigenous people, there is transparency, accountability and dignity of voice for participation,” he said.

“And there will be minimum corruption as you cannot steal because everybody knows everything. Systems in the world which are small and local are relatively immune to failure and they have always worked,” the Okyenhene added. 

Commendation

The Adontenhene commended the Okyenhene for spearheading peaceful co-existence among the chiefs and people in Okyeman, a development that had allowed the area to experience progress.

“We as divisional, sub-chiefs as well as the people of Okyeman will perform the task assigned us creditably,” Daasebre Darko assured the Okyenhene.