Professor Godfred Bokpin is an economist
Renowned economist and Professor of Finance, Godfred Bokpin, has averred that Ghanaians dominate only in corruption-related activities while remaining largely absent from critical sectors like real estate, banking and finance.
Speaking on GhanaWeb’s BizTech with Ernestina Serwaa Asante, Professor Bokpin contrasted Ghana’s economic footprint with that of Nigeria, pointing out that Nigerian banks such as Zenith, Access, and UBA have expanded across Africa, while no Ghanaian bank has ventured beyond the country’s borders.
He urged both government and citizens to be intentional about building globally competitive Ghanaian businesses.
‘Debt is the new form of colonisation’ – Professor Bokpin
The economist in the interview said; “Look, any country that has not empowered the citizens to save, that country is not accumulating capital. That country cannot finance its own development. And that is why every day, a president will go to China, Japan, and go and bring capital because we are not building capital here. So the limited economic opportunities we have, we can’t take advantage of that.
“You tell me, which aspect of this Ghanaian economy are Ghanaians in charge? Maybe the corruption industry. But real sector, we are absent. Banking, there’s nothing Ghanaian about the Ghanaian banking industry,” he stated.
Professor Bokpin stressed the need to nurture indigenous businesses beyond local success, positioning them to thrive regionally and globally.
Nigeria set to join world’s top five economies by 2075 – Prof Bokpin
“We should be intentional about growing some of our indigenous businesses. Not only to be local champions at the regional level, and then at the global level. That is the only way we can make it,” he stated.
The Professor of Finance called for a complete overhaul of Ghana’s economic architecture to create space for citizens to save, invest, and participate meaningfully in national development.
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