Ghana’s economic struggles are deeply rooted in high levels of corruption and a lack of accountability, and addressing these challenges is the nation’s best bet for achieving true economic freedom, says Prof. Enoch Opoku Antwi.
The Dean of Business Administration and Communication Arts at the Academic City University says Ghana’s economy is at the mercy of two main twin challenges: lack of accountability and corruption, which are obstructing the country’s journey to economic freedom.
Speaking to The High Street Journal at an Economic Freedom Seminar organized by the Africa Centre for Entrepreneurship and Youth Empowerment (ACEYE), Prof. Antwi minced no words, insisting that there appears to be a cartel thwarting Ghana’s progress to economic freedom and prosperity.
Prof. Antwi cited alarming figures to illustrate the devastating impact of corruption on Ghana’s economic prospects. “As I speak now, 25 percent of even aid that comes to Africa ends up in individual pockets. That doesn’t help anybody,” he lamented.
He further cited the shocking case of large-scale alleged theft at the country’s ports, where out of 2,400 containers of electricity cables, over 1,300 had mysteriously vanished. “We have cartels among us, and that is why our economy is not growing,” he decried.
“The most important thing in the world is that freedom is always one of the economic fronts, and our economy is not in good shape, so what we have to do is to fix our accountability system, make sure that we are accountable, and we have to make sure that corruption is eradicated,” he maintained.
He continued, “If we are able to plug all the holes that individuals are syphoning money into their pockets, I think that will make a headway economically.”
His concerns align with the broader economic discourse on Ghana’s persistent fiscal and governance challenges. Corruption remains a significant drain on public resources, undermining investor confidence and weakening state institutions.
Recent reports by Transparency International and other governance watchdogs indicate that Ghana continues to struggle with illicit financial outflows, procurement fraud, and weak institutional oversight.
For Ghana to break free from this cycle, Prof. Antwi believes leadership must prioritize accountability as a fundamental pillar of economic governance. “If we fix leadership and corruption, almost 80 percent of our problems will be solved,” he emphasized.
The Economic Freedom Seminar is a platform created by ACEYE to imbibe in students the philosophy of the free market and economics and its impact on economic growth and prosperity. It also seeks to challenge them to be innovative, cultivate the principles of transformational leadership, and challenge the tendency to depend on the government for everything.
