Just after I wrote my last column a fortnight ago, on the dangers of aid being used as a tool to promote the interests of donor countries rather than the interests of Ghana, we had a case study set out in an exchange of letters between the Ghana government and […]
Who calls the tune? (Published in Business & Financial Times, 18 October 2019)
There has been a lot of heated debate about the perceived threat of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) to Ghana over the last few weeks. Here, I want to discuss some of the underlying issues that likely underpin this: how are national policy directions set? Some suspect the Minister of Education […]
The Living and the Dead (published 30 August 2019 in the Business and Financial Times)
Surprisingly, at least to outsiders, Ghanaian funerals have become the loudly beating heart of our social networks, and can also be a great place to do business. I confess to having been a little puzzled myself by our extravagant and extended funerals. My memory is that they were far less […]
Locating Ghana (in Business & Financial Times, 16 Aug 2019)
There is an intriguing project called “what3words” that has divided the world into three metre by three metre grid squares, and has identified each of these squares uniquely with just three words. It sounds an easier way of referring to a location than longitude and latitude readings with many digits, […]
Innovate, or Die! (published Business & Financial Times, 2 August 2019)
My topic is Research & Development (R&D), a concept which in the last decade or two has been expanded to include innovation (that is, implementing rather than simply developing ideas for new products and services). An example comes from my own company HJA Africa, which sells Organic Farming Aid. This […]
Whatsoever Things are Good (published in Business & Financial Times, 19 July 2019)
Last week I drove from Cape Coast to Accra and was struck by the large number of police barriers. I got stopped at one, and was asked to show my fire extinguisher. I hope you all know that it is a legal requirement in Ghana to carry a fire extinguisher […]
Children at Risk (published Business & Financial Times, 5 July 2019)
A recently released video by investigative journalist Anas raises troubling questions about orphanages in Ghana, and particularly an orphanage I know well (and so also know that some of the assertions he makes are wrong). However, my focus in this column is on Anas’ underlying implication, which is in line […]
Ghana’s Growing Old (in Business & Financial Times 21/06/19)
Much is said about the growing numbers of young people across Africa, including Ghana. With 39% of Ghana’s population under the age of 15 we are solidly in the group of countries with a young population (defined as 35% or more of the population being less than 15 years). We […]
Globalising Ghana? (in Business & Financial Times, 7 June 2019)
In my last column I looked at the migration of people across African borders, and the tensions and opportunities that brings. I now turn to trends in movements of goods and services across borders (economic globalisation), and some implications for Ghanaian development. There has been trade in ideas and in […]
Migration Stories (in Business & Financial Times, 24 May 2019)
Why write about migration this week? I will come to that, but first, let’s mark the end of exam season with a quick quiz: 1. What proportion do you think of (a) Ghana’s population and (b) the world’s population are migrants (migrants are defined here as born outside the country […]