Economist, Professor Godfred Bokpin has warned that any growth model that relies extensively on natural resources cannot deliver sustainable growth and development, urging Ghana and other African countries to shift towards economies driven by ideas, innovation and digitisation.
Professor Bokpin said continued reliance on natural resources has resulted in an environmentally destructive growth model that threatens the long-term development prospects of the continent.
“Any growth model that relies extensively on natural resources would never deliver sustainable growth and development,” he said.
“It would never and no country has actually through that path delivered sustainable development for anyone to reference,” he added.
Delivering a presentation at the 2026 Students and Young Professionals African Liberty Academy, Professor Bokpin said Ghana must gradually move away from an economic model that places excessive pressure on natural resources and the environment.
He said the alternative should be an “idea generation economy” capable of using innovation and digitisation to improve productivity and expand economic opportunities.
“We must move to an idea generation economy that builds on innovation and digitization to scale up growth and development,” Professor Bokpin said.
He argued that Ghana’s failure to achieve the desired level of development despite decades of relying on the existing model should prompt a fundamental rethink of how the economy is structured.
“Until we switch to idea generation economy, innovation, competition, better ways of delivering the same outcome, how do we achieve more with less and the rest of them, we are never going to come out of this,” he remarked.
Professor Bokpin also challenged young people to place emphasis on intellectual development and the generation of ideas rather than political affiliations.
He criticised what he described as declining interest among young people in intellectual discussions, saying political loyalty and social media commentary were increasingly taking precedence over ideas.
“What saddens me these days is where across our universities and the educational value chain you hardly see the youth yearning for ideas, competing on the basis of what? ideas,” he lamented.
He urged young people to protect their intellectual independence and resist exchanging it for political patronage.
“If you sell your intellectual liberty for the politics of today, you have failed your generation,” Professor Bokpin admonished.
He said Ghana’s youthful population provides the country with a significant opportunity to transform its economy if young people channel their energy into innovation, critical thinking and productive enterprise.
Professor Bokpin cited Ghana’s demographic structure, noting that almost 58% of the population is below 30 years, and urged young people to recognise their role in shaping the country’s future.
“You should not wake up with despair. The power to transform this country is in your hands,” he stated.
He added that sustainable transformation would depend on Ghana developing an economy where competition is driven by ideas and innovation rather than political influence or personal attacks.
“I want to challenge you that let’s treasure idea generation. Let’s treasure the competition that is based on ideas rather than who is insulting more than the other,” Professor Bokpin said.
