Ghana Has Sure Changed

Things in Ghana have changed dramatically over the past two and a half years; not just because President Mills is our client but because it’s true. The infrastructure improvements that have been started and the spending to increase the standard of living for the people of Ghana is in stark contrast to some of its neighbors. The attendant corruption and crime that has usually accompanied such largesse in other developing countries is not visible here.
Firstly, as a former Cabinet Minister in charge of Ghana’s Internal Revenue Service, President Mills knows how contracts are approved and as a former Vice President, he also knows how the system usually works. He has directed his ministers that all contracts have to be vetted by an independent consultant to be sure they pass the due diligence test. Further, he has made it quite clear to his ministers that corruption will not be tolerated or ignored; again a stark contrast to the previous administration.

When you arrive at the airport, you no longer have to walk from the airplane to the terminal; something that is not exactly pleasant in the West African sun. You board a bus and are taken over. Inside the arrival area the first thing that hits you is how clean and air conditioned it is. And now there are actually porters inside the terminal to help you, people wearing uniforms as opposed to previously when it was not the same. The Customs and Immigration Bureau now requires electronic fingerprinting as well as electronic swiping of passports, a technology that was alien as little as two years ago.

As you drive from the airport you see endless buildings under construction which is a testament to how robust the economy in Ghana really is. There is actually a growing middle class which was evidenced on Friday (July 1 is a national holiday) when I went to the Accra Mall. While it’s pretty small by U.S. standards, the parking lot was packed with cars and the mall was filled with teenagers and adults. Many were shopping at the large supermarket (one of the very few in the country), others were enjoying fast food snacks at the Food Court and others were shelling out the equivalent of $8.71 for an adult ticket to the movies.
Yes, the “old” Accra still exists. I took a trip to the Central Market which was teeming on Saturday with people selling goods. This is not a tourist market but sort of a catch all market where vendors in stalls and on the streets sell any product imaginable from toothpaste to jeans to textiles to cookware to electronics. That doesn’t even include the large section of stalls selling meats, fruits and vegetables.

It’s fascinating to see the contrast within 100 feet of a modern office building while right in front are street vendors hawking their products the same way people have been doing so for over five hundred years. I can’t tell you whether or not the charm of Ghana will last but like most developing countries, there’s a long way to go before the poor actually get to share in the changes.