Finally, a Niche!

 

Finally, former President Mahama has found a common niche with President Akuffo-Addo, the IMF! However, Mr. Mahama considers Vice President (VP) Bawumia and Finance Minister (FM) Ofori-Atta failures, hence, unqualified for IMF negotiations (Graphic online, Jul - 02 – 2022). Mr. Mahama’s contempt is misplaced; credit precedes criticism.

The VP who has introduced digitization to Ghana, appreciably formalizing the economy, bringing much needed convenience and expedited services to Ghanaians, is not a failure. Similarly, the FM who has handled finance for six years, widening access to secondary education, who paid public service workers for the nine months they did not work during COVID-19 lockdown, fed numerous low-income earners, increasing public service wages alongside, cannot be a failure. He cautioned the TUC in early 2022 that the state could ill-afford the wage increase demand, since 60 % of the national funds go into salaries.

The duo that ingeniously rolled out the Nation Builders’ Corps concept, engaging a backlog of unemployed graduates, cannot be failures. The concept pushed into various sectors, a cross-section of graduates who could not be employed by the Mahama Administration, due to IMF employment freeze, because they received allowances, not salaries. The engaged experienced financial relief, received technological training and industrial experience.

Digitization has propelled a strong programme in Information Communication Technology for learners, especially girl education. Additionally, the VP has initiated a sophisticated entrepreneurship laboratory for (youth) skill acquisition, alongside short- and long-term skill development programme for various trades. Utilizing national funds for currency in human resource development is not a failure. Indeed, fiscal issues could have even been better handled, shortcomings contributing to current economic crisis, but that is a painful dent, not failure.

Mr. Mahama has more in common with President Akuffo-Addo than the former apparently realizes. When Mr. Mahama converted six polytechnics to technical universities (TUs) in 2016, he stressed the urgent need for competency-based training. Logically, his administration supplied industrial equipment and machinery for practical instruction.

However, his grave error remains neglecting to engage grassroot polytechnic stakeholders to ascertain impediments to hands-on training. Else, he would have realized the endangered status of hands-on training due to systemic marginalization of technicians. The polytechnic system had failed to develop a career path for technicians. Consequently, they divert for progression. Though TUs received machinery and equipment, persistent scarcity in technicians obstructs the nurturing of competent graduates for industry.

If the TUs had fulfilled the mandate for competency-based training, President Akuffo-Addo’s policy of One-District: One Factory could have been smoothly rolled out, strengthening national manufacturing base. A competitive manufacturing sector could have strengthened the Cedi, improved sustainable employment, opened avenues for new joblines and commodity export, which might have improved the nation’s GDP and effectively hold the IMF at bay.

To wit, policies initiated by the Executive must be rolled out by stakeholders – public, private and consumers. Stakeholder profligacy implies that excellent policies, birthed by huge investments, remain dormant, and funds cannot be recouped. Sinking national coffers roll to the IMF. Which stakeholders are breathing fire on the Vice President and Finance Minister, which torch is being branded by Mr. Mahama? Ironically, the IMF believes in the country’s leadership (Daily Graphic Jul.7, p.22).

Common Fault

One major governance drawback of both Mr. Mahama and President Akuffo-Addo has been their failure to operate meritocracy. Consequently, sycophancy has smeared both regimes, yielding, in Senyo Hosi’s candid summary, “PR stunts filled with untruths, financial malpractices and sub-optimal governance just to sustain personal interests and footsoldier fleeces.”  (Jul - 06 – 2022, graphic online).

Excellent pragmatic policies have been initiated in the past six years, but a saturated environment of nepotism, indolence, opportunism and wastefulness, rapidly erodes the impact. The human capital needed to bolster the economy for innovation, mostly, believe they are entitled to wealth and privilege, alarmingly missing the willpower that propels societal progress. Such sing, pray and boast whilst Ghana regresses.

Synergy
Synergy might salvage not only the economy but Ghanaian dignity. The constant dancing with IMF implies – in the Akan language – akͻhwisεm (national) wastefulness, an abhorring reputation, as Miss Elizabeth Ohene has so succinctly captured it (Jul 6, 2022 Daily Graphic).

Shirking repulsive materialism, regressive debates, fanatism for diligence is required. Halting the commercializing of education for human capital is necessary. Pursuing quality education to impact the intellect for astuteness would refine. Human capital with emotional intelligence, a high sense of moderation and duty, plus community sense, could halt the wasteful attitude.

The nation has enough for everybody’s needs but not enough for the majority greed. Choices and consequences! Assertiveness spirit, commitment, perseverance, good humour, diligence might make us commit to humans, not vain wealth. Discipline, fenced by moderation and conscientiousness, might aid us to bid eternal farewell to the IMF at no. 18.

 

Joseph Mgimba: Inspiration for the Industrious

 

Heard of Mgimba? He is the Ugandan man who has made a fortune selling cockroaches to China. He discovered this peculiar culinary habit of the Chinese – fried cockroach stew – and started growing cockroaches. Neighbours who observed him harvesting thousands of cockroaches poured scorn on his endeavour. Now a millionaire, Mgimba was interviewed on BBC recently. A word to Ken Ofori-Atta and the boss of the Ghana Export Promotion Centre is enough.

That was a PS to the columnist Enimil Ashon’s article in the June 24^th, 2022 edition of the Daily Graphic. Researching Joseph Mgimba yielded a short article affirming that “he trains and sells cockroaches for a living”. I perceive three significant implications in Mgimba’s story:

 

Acumen at Work

That some unprogressive Chinese have descended on Africa like hungry scavengers is evident from their participation in illegal mining, culminating in the destruction of potable water and affable lands – Ghana. In some African countries, unscrupulous Chinese are spearheading donkey poaching, having desecrated the elephant species for ivory. Thanks to conniving, unethical indigenous businesses, Chinese junk goods have flooded the Ghanaian market, with deplorable implications.

Amidst skewed business relationships, Joseph Mgimba symbolizes a hand of industrial competition. For a change, Chinese money is coming to Africa, not as a soft loan but as revenue earned through African ingenuity. An indigene, evidently astute, has successfully studied the Chinese eating habit to set up a thriving culinary business with that community, thus, making complete nonsense of that individual Chinese bigot’s ignorant claim in Malawi that Africans have low IQ. On the contrary, Africans can be just as industrious as the Chinese, but we are respectful.

Lessons from Mgimba

Joseph Mgimba’s novelty must not remain an isolated case. Africans have been streaming to China for higher studies in recent times, most returning with terminal degrees. If they exercised Mgimba’s kind of astuteness, a cross-section of African industry would be servicing Chinese needs. Then, we could gradually balance the investment scales through acquired knowledge and skill application.  It is never too late though.

Enimil Ashon threw Mgimba’s novelty at the court of the Finance Minister and Director of Ghana Export Promotion Centre, but he should have cast the net farther. In fact, he should have forcefully hurled the inspiring story and implications at the teeming unemployed. This diligent, shrewd Malawian is cashing in on a needy situation, a business gap, ready to get his hands dirty, as opposed to many unemployed Ghanaians, especially, the youth, forever waiting for government to employ them, so that they can get all dressed up and go sit in an office.

Look, the Industrious Mgimba                                                                                          
Consider Mgimba’s courage in convincing himself to commence his unusual business. Imagine the effort it must have cost him to go on tedious rounds, first acquainting Malawian neighbours, friends and families, even strangers, of his weird concept, probably informing them of his plan to collect cockroaches from their not so clean spaces. Imagine the thousands of hours he must have spent on his rounds, detecting and strategizing to catch the slippery insects alive. Consider the creativity it must require to breed/train cockroaches, feed them and ensure their safety in enclosed spaces, considering that they are free rangers.

Imagine Mgimba’s tenacity in defying neighbours' scorn in relentless pursuit of his business target. Imagine the resilience he mustered to convince himself of his sanity and business potential, and one would sadly realize that those are the very qualities lacking in many unemployed Ghanaians, especially the youth, who glorify riches but abhor diligence. One sad consequence of the current propensity of many contemporary Ghanaian to get rich quick is that they would never experience Mgimba’s sense of achievement, which endows an individual with the most glorious and dignifying feeling, emanating from accomplishing an arduous task.

Conceiving an idea and strategizing to turn dream into reality remains a human triumph. Out of such daring dreamers come innovation and adaptability. Such ones have a keen sense of observation which drives them to smell opportunity from afar and muster courage to grab opportunity. Such do not wait for government or connections to offer them unmerited jobs. Rather, they study for adaptable skills and explore opportunities. Joseph Mgimba is worthy of emulation, because he epitomizes determination.

The good news is that the knowledge and entrepreneurial skills Mgimba needed to propel him to his current position are within reach of young and old. Through the Skills Development programme run by vocational centres, technical institutes, NVTI and technical universities in Ghana, literates as well as illiterates can access flexible 21st Century vocational training for sustainable, innovative and adaptable job creation competence. For the truly determined, the target is the globe, not China, but the price is hard work