WHY GHANA HAS NOTHING TO OFFER T&T

GHANA is currently receiving its 17^th financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The West African country is heavily indebted and experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation.

The nation of 33 million people is “gripped by soaring inflation and a depreciating economy,” the British Guardian newspaper reported.

The country has defaulted on debt payments.

It is against that backdrop that Ashanti King Otumfuo Osei Tutu 11 led a delegation to Trinidad and Tobago to celebrate emancipation from slavery and to discuss trade.

Teams headed by T&T’s Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon and Ghana’s senior investment and export promotion officials spoke airily of “expansion of bilateral and investments.”

But the African country is in the throes of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) squabble at a time when T&T’s natural gas feedstock has hit such a low that industrial plants have been mothballed.

Ghana wants to import LNG from the multinational energy company Shell.

But there is uproar in the capital city Accra because of fear that it would push up the cost of electricity, roll back gains toward renewable energy, and lead to more fossil fuel-related debt.

While a privately-funded LNG plant is being constructed, critics say this is an example of the mismanagement of oil and gas resources.

Opponents want Ghana to invest in clean technology to provide affordable and sustainable energy to the country and other African nations.

One energy critic said the project and the planned take-or-pay contract are like a “rope hanging around of necks” that could “suffocate” Ghana.

Apart from the limited scope for energy trade, there is also little opportunity for significant economic exchanges in light of Ghana’s financial crisis.

The country’s debt is 64 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), double that of the African continent.

In his election campaign, current President Nana Akufo-Addo made a string of promises, only to slap new taxes when he got into office.

The country continues to borrow, and, like T&T, investors are not beating down the door.

The national currency, the cedi, is depreciating, there are foreign exchange shortages, inflation is climbing, and there are allegations of corruption.

There are 120 government ministers, each well-paid and with generous perks.

The president has a staff of more than 1,000, the highest in the country’s history, and foreign travels are common.

Ghana has fallen from one of the healthiest African economies to a crisis-riddled, debt-ridden land with little trading prospects.

With Ghana having virtually nothing to offer T&T, King Tutu’s visit is likely to be remembered only as a goodwill trip.