Sustainable development models needed

Dear Editor,

Social media platforms have recently been bombarded with hashtags and messages urging officials to find solutions to the country’s numerous challenges. However, development does not occur in a vacuum and cannot be attained by creating hashtags.

In today’s world, India is the destination for all things technological. This has been possible as the country had over the years made conscious effort to invest heavily in the sector.

In Ghana, Indians, considered experts in the field, work in IT departments of most enterprises and international corporations. Same could be said of Cuban doctors.

Bearing in mind our current challenges, I believe, it was time we took a cue from these partner countries and concentrate resources in the areas where we have the most potential or competitive advantage.

People may ask reasonable questions about this proposition by blaming our problems on leadership but I am convinced that our problems are more widespread.

It is high time we returned to our roots and began channelling our strengths in a way that benefits everyone equally while designing social and sustainable development model.

We can look back in history to the General Acheampong regime’s “Operation Feed Yourself” policy. We did not go out of our way to sell whatever we made; instead, we ate what we put our joint efforts into. For most citizens, this became a means of survival.

Authorities may do all possible to ensure the country’s progress, but we must not forget that we, as citizens, also have a responsibility to play. Let us all help fix the country, just as we all ascribe to one of the numerous patriotic tunes, “we are all involved in making our motherland.”

The sustainable development measures, when combined, will not assist to erase the country’s problems overnight, nor will they help to drastically reduce our unemployment rate, but they may help to alleviate them.

From Price Botchway, Adentan Accra