Economist Kwame Pianim does not want Ghana’s relatively young democracy to be used as an excuse for its lack of development.
“When you are younger, you run faster,” the economist said on the Point of View during a discussion on the prospects for Ghana in the next four years.
Ghana has been independent for almost 64 years whilst having 28 years of sustained democracy which pales in comparison to seasoned democracies like the United States of America.
But the leadership potential in these countries is no different from the potential in Ghana, Mr. Pianim argued.
“We were in the same universities as the people running America and Europe, and we were not at the bottom of the class.”
He cited China as an example saying it had used under 40 years to become a world superpower.
“Between 1978 and now, they [China] have grown to become the second-largest economy in the world and soon maybe the largest, and they have become a global superpower.”
Because of this, Mr. Pianim stressed that, for Ghana as a country, “we don’t have time to waste.”
He added that the need to quicken the pace of development has become more important because of the growing youthful population which is becoming increasingly more educated because of policies like free senior high school education.
“Either we have jobs for them that are creative and pay them well, and they are adding value to our natural resources, or they are unemployed after free secondary education, and they become educated thieves and mobsters on our streets.”