Although Ghana is often praised for a peaceful and stable democracy in Africa, there are concerns about whether it is really delivering the socio-economic aspirations of Ghanaians.
Amid these socio-economic shortfalls, despite the stable democracy, Dr. Kwabena Donkor is calling for a bold rethink of how the country governs itself to achieve real socio-economic transformation.
In an exclusive interview with The High Street Journal, Dr. Donkor argues that while Ghana has succeeded in maintaining democratic order, the system has become overly focused on elections rather than outcomes.
He therefore emphasized that democracy is not just about elections, campaigns, and transition. It is about delivering the needs of not only today’s generation, but also for the unborn generation.
Rethinking the 4-Year Election Cycle
One of Ghana’s bane to development, Dr. Donkor believes, is the four-year electoral cycle. He believes it encourages short-term thinking and populist policies.
According to him, governments are often driven by the urgency to win the next election rather than implement long-term development strategies. He is therefore proposing a significant shift from the short-term of four years to a non-renewable seven-year presidential term.
Dr. Donkor says this seven-year term should be complemented by a prime minister accountable to Parliament and removable if performance falls short.
“I’m very passionate that our four-year cycle is not helpful. I sincerely believe we should elect leaders for seven years,” he emphasized.
He added, “A president is elected for seven years and is non-renewable. I believe there must be a prime minister who is accountable to parliament, who leads government business in parliament. And when the government is not performing well, he can be sacked.”
The Need for a National Direction
For Dr. Donkor, the issue goes beyond just the political structure. It also touches on national direction.
He believes that as part of Ghana’s democracy, there should be a system where the government actively plans the country’s human capital needs over the next decade and aligns education and investment accordingly.
In practical terms, this would mean deliberately training a targeted number of engineers, doctors, statisticians, and technicians based on projected national needs.
He particularly reiterated his concern about the state of science and technical education in Ghana. Many universities, he notes, lack functional laboratories and workshops, reducing practical, skills-based disciplines to theory-driven instruction.
“For any nation that is serious about development, do you debase your science and technology? Are we even placing emphasis on technical education? It’s all about free SHS. Vote catching without any serious attempt at national development. Where do we want to be in the next 10 years? In the next 20 years? What are the steps we need to take? In agro-processing. In value addition. In modern agriculture. In the IT space. In the FinTech space. What is happening to our mathematical sciences?” he narrated.
This disconnect, he argues, is already visible in the labour market. Ghana continues to rely on artisans and technicians from neighboring countries like Togo and Benin for jobs that local training institutions should be filling.
For Dr. Donkor, this is not just a skills gap; it is a failure of policy direction.
The Need to Rethink Education & Education Funding
He also challenges the current approach to education funding, particularly the broad, non-targeted nature of free tertiary education. Instead, he advocates for a strategic scholarship system that channels students into priority areas such as engineering, medicine, and actuarial science.
He believes that, for instance, if the government deliberately offers 5,000 scholarships for mechanical engineering and 1,000 for medicine, people will respond. With this, the country can shape the future workforce deliberately.
“Is that the type of democracy we want? Where the central government cannot say in the next 10 years, we want this number of engineers. In the next 10 years, we want this number of medical doctors. In the next 10 years, we want this number of surveyors. In the next 10 years, we want this number of architects. In the next 10 years, we want this number of statisticians, etc,” he noted.
He added, “And the government says direction, and everybody obeys. That is the type of democracy that leads to development.”
Deliberate Incentives for the Private Sector
Beyond education, Dr. Donkor calls for a more active role for the state in steering economic development.
While acknowledging the importance of the private sector, he emphasizes that the government must set clear priorities and provide incentives that direct investment into critical sectors like agro-processing, modern agriculture, IT, and fintech.
In his view, the absence of a proper coordinating system has resulted in a fragmented approach to development, where policies change with political cycles rather than national needs.
“You need perspective planning. 10 years ahead, the National Development Planning Commission, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, among others, should set up the national direction for the next 10 years,” he stressed.
The Bottomline
Yet, despite his strong critique, Dr. Donkor does not dismiss Ghana’s democratic progress. Rather, he sees it as a foundation that must now evolve. For him, Ghana must move beyond electoral success and focus on developmental success.
That means designing a democracy that prioritizes long-term planning, builds critical skills, and delivers tangible improvements in people’s lives.
The real test of democracy, he says, is not how often a country votes, but whether it creates a future where the current and the next generation can live better, healthier, and more productive lives.
