Former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Alex Ampaabeng, has urged Ghana to confront its persistent economic challenges with “hands-on and practical solutions” rather than relying on repeated models that have proven ineffective over the years. He stressed that the key to addressing the current economic crisis lies in tackling the country’s over-reliance on imports and building self-sufficiency through agriculture and production.
Speaking on Asaase Radio in Accra, Dr. Ampaabeng highlighted the unsustainable cycle where Ghana continuously exchanges the cedi for the US dollar to import essential goods, a practice he said fuels inflation and weakens the local currency. “The circular problem has never changed because successive governments have failed to break the import dependency,” he noted.
He revealed that in the past year alone, Ghana spent more than $700 million importing rice and maize. According to him, such practices effectively create jobs in foreign countries while denying Ghanaian citizens similar opportunities. “When you exchange your cedis to dollars to import, you are financing employment elsewhere instead of developing jobs here,” Dr. Ampaabeng explained.
Dr. Ampaabeng expressed strong confidence in New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong, as the leader capable of breaking this cycle. He said Mr. Agyapong’s vision of promoting large-scale commercial farming could fundamentally reshape Ghana’s economy by reducing imports, stabilizing the currency, and generating sustainable employment.
He emphasized that commercial farming presents a full value chain—from planting and harvesting to processing and sales—that could create thousands of jobs. Dr. Ampaabeng cited the government’s School Feeding Programme as a case in point, questioning why rice must be imported to feed students when the crop could be produced locally in sufficient quantities.
The former deputy minister further urged policymakers to focus on financing and equipping smallholder farmers in rural areas to scale up their operations into commercial ventures. “If farmers in our villages are given the right support, they can supply the domestic market and beyond. This will reduce imports and strengthen the cedi,” he argued.
Dr. Ampaabeng concluded by stressing that Ghana’s economic transformation requires leadership committed to real, practical change. He maintained that Kennedy Agyapong’s ideas offer the country a fresh opportunity to create jobs, empower local industries, and chart a path toward economic independence.
credit: Asaase Radio
