Nana Yaw

How did a small African island with barely any natural resources manage to achieve what Ghana, with all its gold, cocoa and oil, is still struggling to do? I’ve been reading about Mauritius and its story has really made me think. Ghana gained independence in 1957. Mauritius gained independence 11 years later, in 1968. At the time, Mauritius depended heavily on sugar. Today, it has built an economy around tourism, manufacturing, financial services and technology. The average Mauritian produces roughly 5 times the economic output of the average Ghanaian. They also have a higher life expectancy and better human development indicators. Mauritius didn’t need one president to rule for 30 years to achieve this. They’ve had different governments, different political parties and peaceful transfers of power. What they managed to do was maintain important national priorities even when leadership changed. What would Ghana look like today if, instead of every government trying to leave its own legacy, we had spent the last 30 years building on what the previous government started? Maybe the real achievement isn’t finding a leader who can transform a country in 8 years. Maybe it’s building a country that doesn’t have to start again every time it elects a new leader.