Reaping the benefits of African economic integration
Friday, February 01, 2019
ABIDJAN: When Kwame Nkrumah, under whose leadership Ghana became the first African country to claim independence in 1957, was overthrown by a military coup in 1966, few of his fellow citizens shed a tear for his regime. But one aspect of his legacy remains relevant to this day and merits careful consideration.
Nkrumah was a visionary and charismatic leader whose focus was on modernising Ghana and on campaigning for Africa’s political unity. His most brilliant idea was to integrate the continent and create the United States of Africa. But he favored the development of costly, capital-intensive projects, which led to unsustainable foreign debt and deficits while creating few employment opportunities. Economic contraction led to widespread unrest and to a loss of credibility for the idea of African integration, and to fallout with his famous economic adviser, the future Nobel laureate W. Arthur Lewis.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...