By Charles ANTWI-BOAHEN
It is essential to recognize the profound significance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 with a vision to achieve full implementation by 2030, the 17 SDGs provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.
At the heart of these goals lies the imperative to eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions and more particularly to tackle the 3 dimensions of sustainable develoment namely economic growth and inclusivity, social equality and inclusion, and environmental protection.
We are in 2025, with just 5 years to the agenda completion year, and let’s ask ourselves if we have made the needed efforts to fully achieve these goals by 2030. The answer is a BIG NO, because we continue to do the same old things with no clear vision and a sense of purpose as a people.
Just as we failed to achieve the UN’s Agenda 21, a comprehensive plan of action to build a global partnership for sustainable development to improve human lives and protect the environment, adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and the Millenium Development Goals adopted in 2000 by the UN of which Ghana is an active member, we are on our way to failing to achieve the SDGs if we do not take radical steps for the next 5 Years.
I get surprised when people ask why almost all African countries, south of the Sahara are lagging behind in real transformational economic development, because we all know the answer: Our leaders are insensitive to the general wellbeing of the people and simply do not value the lives of the people they govern as compared to leadership in the other continents of the world!
Yes, the deplorable state of our 2 biggest public hospitals, that is the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital tells a lot about the value leadership of this country over the years has placed on human lives.
For KATH, it had to take the vision of HRM Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, who we don’t pay our taxes to, to come up with the Heal KATH project to mobilize resources from the private sector to salvage the situation.
Let’s not kid ourselves, how many of us believe Ghana can be like the UAE in 20 years with the way our economy has been mismanaged over the years with absolutely no sense of direction? How can businesses grow the needed capital and expand beyond our frontiers when the exchange rate can just quadruple overnight?
Honestly, businessmen in Africa are magicians with the way we are still able to stay our ground and soldier on in our chaotic economies. If what happens here were to happen in the Western World, their economies would just crash beyond recognition.
Today, as sad as it may sound, every other race has picked up the pieces from their past failures and have changed the narrative as far as economic development is concerned except the black race: Now look at the massive economic development the Arabian Gulf has experienced in the past 20 Years due to visionary leadership.
Look at Asia now particularly China; Most of their cities today were villages just 30 years ago; Go there today and you will wonder how the place has been transformed, and all these advancements are as a result of dedicated and deliberate leadership aimed at transforming a nation and making every citizen count.
Ask yourself this pertinent question: Does the state know you exist? For most businessmen, the state may know we exist because of the fat taxes it gets from our businesses and trust me, that is the only time we matter to the state.
Be out of business or be of no relevance to the state today and see if your existence will be of any importance to the state. Unfortunately, this is the situation for a larger chunk of the Ghanaian population; the State does not know they exist;
The State has no inclusive plan of scalable source of livelihood for them and that is why they would rather, as unlawful as it is, take their lives into their own hands and do Galamsey to survive, and the saddest thing is that we have Politicians, Chiefs, and Prominent Businessmen owning some of these illegal mining sites and deeply involved in the Galamsey business, and that seem to be reason why all attempts at tackling the menace have proven futile.
The state has left lots of its vulnerable people on their own with no decisive and well-implemented national policy for economic and social inclusion as happens elsewhere.
In spite of all these development failures, all hope is not lost; We can make meaningful strides if we really want to.
Now, in the remaining part of my editorial, I’m going to talk about the Role of a Vibrant Economy, Economic Growth as a Catalyst for Social Transformation, and The Importance of Inclusivity, Technology and Innovation, and Public Private Partnerships as the instruments for a Radical Economic Growth.
By embracing sustainable practices, leveraging technology, and fostering public-private partnerships, we can turn these challenges into stepping stones towards a brighter future.
The Role of a Vibrant Economy
A vibrant economy serves as the bedrock upon which the aspirations of the SDGs can be realized. Economic vitality is not merely a matter of high GDP; it encompasses inclusivity, resilience, and sustainability.
It is about creating opportunities for all citizens, ensuring equitable distribution of resources, and fostering innovation that drives long-term progress.
Economic Growth as a Catalyst for Social Transformation
Economic growth, when harnessed effectively, becomes a powerful catalyst for social transformation and economic policy is what creates the enabling environment for all actors within the economy particularly the private sector to thrive to achieve meaningful economic growth.
The most significant macroeconomic variables as far as economic policy and economic growth are concerned are exchange rate, interest rate, inflation, taxation, and unemployment rate, which are all interrelated.
These are the most important variables to accord consistent prime attention if we want a sustained economic growth and economic development because when these indicators are low especially exchange rate, interest rate, and taxes, entrepreneur capital is not depleted and access to capital is less expensive generating high production and an economic boom which trickles down to everyone in the country, from the richest to the poorest.
By no fault of ours, and due to gross mismanagement of our currency by managers of our economy at the time, you would have for example lost almost USD 100,000 of your working capital from 1st January 2022 when the Dollar rate was GHS 6.05 to 31st December, 2024 with a Dollar rate of GHS 15.11 if you had One Million Ghana Cedis.
A special commendation goes to the current Governor of the BoG and his team and the Minister of Finance for the remarkable management of our exchange rate in recent weeks.
In fact we haven’t seen the Cedi perform against the Dollar like this for God knows how long, and we hope this is not one of those charades where the Cedi performs creditably against the Dollar for a short period and falls steeply again in just a matter of days.
We strongly encourage you to continue and even consolidate whatever measures you have put in place that is giving us this wonderful results and get the Dollar rate into single digits and the economy will get in shape automatically.
With our enviable stable democracy and the remarkable ROI in almost all sectors of the economy as all of us here as businessmen and women can attest to, a very low tax regime if well propagated to the outside world, will rake in tens of billions of Dollars in Foreign Direct Investments, just as happens in the UAE, and this will greatly help arrest our forex challenges and exponentially expand our economy.
If we don’t look at these indicators that affect everyone and make noise about GDP which sometimes can be a bit deceptive if we have a large chunk of economic activity coming from limited sectors of the economy like oil and mining, and the mediocre infrastructural development with padded contracts we are used to which are often schemes to make just a few rich unfortunately, we shall not make any good progress at a radical economic growth geared towards a meaningful social and economic transformation of our country.
The moment we are able to tackle these 4 variables and succeed, we will get the economy on a very sound footing and all other indicators will fall in place. The net effect of a sound economic management is that cost of living reduces and standard of living increases.
The Importance of Inclusivity
Inclusivity must remain at the forefront of our efforts. A vibrant economy cannot be realized if it leaves behind marginalized communities.
Women, youth, and vulnerable populations must be integral participants in our economic endeavors. Empowering these groups does not only enhance social equity but also unlocks untapped potential that drives economic growth.
Technological Advancements and Innovation
Innovation and technology are the cornerstones of a vibrant economy. Digital transformation, renewable energy solutions, and advancements in healthcare and agriculture are reshaping our world. In Ghana, we have seen the transformative impact of mobile technology in improving access to financial services, healthcare, and education.
As we move forward, it is crucial to invest in research and development, support start-ups, and create an enabling environment for innovation to thrive and in this light I have seen the government launch the One Million Coders Programme which I believe if implemeneted strategically and rigorously, will create thousands of Tech Businesses and Millions of Tech Jobs as happens in India and Kenya.
Public-Private Partnerships
Public-private partnerships are essential for achieving the SDGs. The state must cut out a lot of its wasteful expenditures and invest real financial capital in private businesses with the potential for robust scalability which will tackle unemployment hands on.
This state-sponsored investment regime should be devoid of cronyism and any form of discrimination and should be on a large scale with ambitious achievement targets to the beneficiary companies and I can assure you, the private sector, with our insatiable hunger for enormous profits, will stand up to the billing and deliver the results we all want.
Over the years, the state has demonstrated that it cannot exploit our overly enormous natural reources nor use our poorly-negotiated royalties for any meaningful economic transformation of our small-populated country; In this regard, the only pragmatic solution will be to cede some of these untapped resources to large private corporations in exchange for real transformative infrastructure of nationwide scope such as a functional nationwide train transportation system- something which we have spent billions of Cedis on as a nation but have still failed to achieve on our own.
The collaboration between governments, businesses, and civil society can pool resources, expertise, and networks to address complex challenges.
By working together, we can create sustainable solutions that benefit all stakeholders and drive inclusive growth.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the journey towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is a collective endeavor that requires unwavering commitment, innovative thinking, and collaborative action.
A vibrant economy, driven by inclusivity, innovation, and sustainability, is the catalyst for the profound transformation we seek. Ghana stands at the threshold of a new era, poised to lead by example and inspire other nations to join us on this transformative journey.
Together, let us embrace the spirit of collaboration, harness the power of a vibrant economy, and work tirelessly towards realizing the Sustainable Development Goals. The future we envision is within our grasp, and it is our duty to make it a reality for the generations to come.
