Paul Kwabena Amaning
President of the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana (OPDAG), Paul Kwabena Amaning, has called on the government to adopt an economic model that vigorously addresses environmental degradation in the pursuit of exploiting the country’s mineral resources such as gold.
Mr. Amaning, in a Facebook post, argued that putting in place positive measures to protect the environment will go a long way not only to support local industries but also prevent intense competition from cheap imported goods.
He mentioned that the country’s economic challenges cannot be resolved through partisan rhetoric and the perpetual apportionment of blame among political actors.
He maintained that the country must move beyond what he described as the entrenched “blame game” and concentrate on identifying pragmatic, innovative and sustainable solutions capable of transforming Ghana’s natural resources into long-term economic prosperity.
“We are allowing our environment to be destroyed for gold and dollars, only to kill our local industries with cheap Chinese imports,” Mr. Amaning stated.
According to him, the apparent appreciation or strengthening of the Ghanaian cedi, although potentially positive in the short term, should not be misconstrued as an indication of structural economic transformation.
He stressed that a rising cedi, in isolation, does not constitute genuine economic development, particularly when domestic productive capacity remains constrained and local enterprises continue to grapple with the consequences of imported goods competing with locally manufactured products.
Mr. Amaning further advocated for a more deliberate and strategic engagement between government and the private sector, particularly with accomplished business leaders who possess practical experience in investment, production, value addition and wealth creation.
He believes Ghana can leverage its considerable gold resources more intelligently to generate broader economic benefits rather than allowing the exploitation of the mineral resource to occur at the expense of the environment and other productive sectors of the economy.
Mr. Amaning, therefore, believes the country requires leadership that is prepared to take difficult but necessary decisions, engage stakeholders beyond the political class and pursue policies that strengthen domestic production.