Ghana is unique, an exemplar
of compelling and confounding contradictions. The fibre of this country
displays an intricate and mysterious tapestry consisting of the sublime,
modernity and decay. Such is the perplexing paradox to be unraveled about this
country.
We live in a land where the dis articulation that characterized the colonial economy, which we loathe so
much for our woes, has been virtually perpetuated by almost all the governments
that have succeeded the colonialists. Today, you are quick to spot the
contradictions in the lifestyles of our political leaders and the masses that
put them in power without any stretch of the imagination. During the colonial
era, the colonialists chose certain suitable locations to inhabit, and our
capital city today is one of them. These locations assumed a character quite
different from the rest of the country. They had all the amenities you could
think of such as electricity, tap-borne water, good schools, means of
transport, hotels, cinemas and other excellent recreational facilities. “The
contrast between the amenities in these centres and the lack of the amenities
in the villages between the commodious living of the European districts, and
the intolerable wretchedness of the peasant’s lifestyle, brought the meaning of
colonization home”- Claude Ake. It is heart wrenching to say that, after over
half a century of independence from the colonial powers and almost two decades
of peaceful multi-party democracy, the situation today is not any different.
It is obvious that, the
disarticulation that characterized the colonial economy has not been properly
addressed if at all by almost all of the subsequent governments. It’s easy
today to identify the lack of regional as well as sectoral complementarity and
reciprocity in our socioeconomic formation; this in turn has resulted in the
lack of forward and backward linkages in production.
Watch for part 2 tomorrow.
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