At a time when countries around the world are heavily investing in transportation infrastructure to connect cities, economist at the University of Ghana Business School, Prof. Godfred Alufar Bokpin is bemoaning the poor state of Ghana’s transportation networks.
The sorry state of the transport infrastructure in the country, the economist says, is evidence of a nation without the basis for a major economic breakthrough.
Professor Bokpin argues that the impact of decent transportation on economic growth and development can never be underestimated. It propels job creation and stimulates growth. Unfortunately, Ghana is still struggling to get the basics right. For Prof. Godfred Bokpin, this failure is costing the nation far more than just potholes and traffic congestion. This, the economist insists, is stalling the very engine of economic transformation.
Speaking at the JoyNews and Amalgam of Professional Bodies Speakers Series, Prof. Bokpin bemoaned how, despite the millions of dollars spent on road construction, Ghana does not make it to the first 30 countries on the IMF Road Quality Index.
He reveals Ghana ranks 36th with an adjusted mean speed score of just 56km/h, which is far below expectations for a country that has declared ambitions for rapid transformation.
About 45% of economic activities, he says, involve the movement of people, goods, and services, underscoring the importance of a proper transportation network to the economy.
“If you take Ghana since 1992, and you pick budget after budget, and you see budgetary allocation to roads, it’s huge on paper. But out there, it’s not there. if you look at the IMF’s road quality index, which they measure through the mean score, Ghana is not in the top 10. Ghana is not in the top 20. We are not in the top 30. In fact, we rank somewhere 36. Our mean speed score is just around 56 kilometres adjusted. So, approximately 45 percent of economic activity is movement. It’s the movement of goods, services, and persons,” he lamented.
To him, with the anticipated growth, he questioned why it remains impossible for someone to live in Kumasi and work in Accra on a daily basis. This situation, the economist maintains, is an indication that the country lacks the basic conditions needed to drive hastened economic transformation.
“The basis for economic transformation, we don’t have it. Because in this country, we have not been able to connect our cities. You just can’t say, I’m going to Cape Coast and come back. That’s going to take you hours. Look at Europe, the US, and look at China, and where they are investing,” he noted.
He added: “We are not connecting the cities. So why are you talking about transformation? Look, you have to live in Accra to work in Accra. It should be possible for somebody to live in Kumasi and come to work in Accra and go back either by rail or even by road.”
Prof. Godfred Bokpin is advocating that to fully unlock the economic potential of the country, the government must prioritize basic infrastructure such as road, rail, and air networks. With significant investment in infrastructure, the pace of the country’s economic transformation can be quickened.
