The Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Dr John Kwakye, has said that the decision by the US government to stop its United States Agency for International Development (USAID) programme should be a wake-up call for Ghana.
Dr Kwakye makes the point that this is the time for Ghana to demand more of its natural resource wealth to fund its own development.
USAID has been providing aid to Ghana, particularly in health and agriculture.
The USAID has indicated plans to suspend its support for supply chain activities in three northern regions of the country.
US President Donald Trump stated that the agency’s spending is totally unexplainable and has singled out certain projects as examples of how the agency is, in its view, wasting taxpayers’ money.
In a post on his X page, Dr John Kwakye said “The USAID aid cut should be a wakeup call for Ghana to demand more of its natural resource wealth to fund the country’s development.”
Also commenting on this matter, Economist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, Prof. Patrick Asuming, said Ghana could be independent of foreign aid and support.
“You cannot run a country where the financing of critical needs is dependent on other countries and donors. It’s not that we don’t have the means; we have the resources. Anytime any of the political parties are in opposition, they’re able to identify all the critical resources that can be mobilized. The amount of illicit financial flows out of this country is quite unbelievable,” he was quoted as saying by myjoyonline.com.
Prof. Asuming emphasised that the government needs to reassess its approach to attracting investments to eliminate corruption.
“Even the amount of money given out in the name of attracting foreign direct investment must be scrutinized. The funds are there. Let’s put our money where our mouth is,” he said.
