ABSTRACT
Foreign aid constitutes an important source of developmental funding for many African states including Ghana. In 2018, the government of Ghana announced an intention to pursue an Agenda to build ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ through the prudent management of the countries resources. This work seeks to look at the sustainability of the “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda by examining the interpretations and purpose of “Ghana Beyond Aid”, elite consensus on pursuing a “Ghana Beyond Aid” and the challenges and prospects of the agenda. The study employed the qualitative research methodology and relied on both primary and secondary data for the analysis. Primary data were sourced from the Ghana Beyond Aid Secretariat, Parliament, Civil society, Development partners, Academia, NDPC and Political parties via interviews. The study found that, “Ghana Beyond Aid”, is subject to so many interpretations which all reflect a decreasing relevance of aid relative to its contribution to development in a changing context of development cooperation. However, two broad interpretations have been derived: the literally concept, implying a complete cut or rejection of aid and the purposive concept, referring to the vision for Ghana to attain economic self-sufficiency and wean itself from aid dependency. Also, the study revealed an underlying consensus on the need for Ghana to strive for self-sufficiency in line with the purposive concept of ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’. It was however found that, forging a bi-partisan consensus on the implementation of the agenda across governments is difficult to reach due to the dangerously competitive nature of the country’s political template. ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’, the study showed, presents Ghana with the opportunity to make the most out of its resources to get out of aid dependency. It also calls for a commitment to increased domestic resource mobilization, accountable leadership, a fight against corruption and wastage.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Several decades after their independence, most African countries are still struggling to find their feet on the development ladder. Poverty, diseases, illiteracy and inequality plague the continent. According to a 2018 World Bank report, Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for most of the world’s poor, the report adds that unlike most of the rest of the world where poverty is declining, the total number of poor in Sub-Saharan Africa is increasing (World Bank, 2018). The number of people living in abject poverty on the continent has increased from an estimated 278 million in 1990 to 413 million in 2015, and out of the world’s most poor 28 countries, 27 are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, all of them having poverty rates above 30 % (World Bank, 2018), For decades, Africa has remained the focus of the entire world with concerns about the levels of poverty, standard of living and conflicts on the continent.
The continent has received foreign aid from the rest of the world, especially the West in an effort to help Africa overcome its development challenge. Africa in the past fifty years has received in excess of one trillion dollars in development aid from the rest of the world, and several millions of dollars continue to flow into the continent in the form of aid annually (Moyo, 2009). In March 2017, the World Bank Group pledged a record $57 billion dollars in aid for Sub-Saharan African countries over the next three fiscal years. This World Bank Group financing is expected to support transformation in priority areas like health, education, water and access to power (Baden, 2017). Despite the huge
transfer of foreign aid to Africa for decades, the continent remains underdeveloped. The West has transferred more than $600 billion in development assistance to Africa so far (Akonor, 2008). More than half of the continent still relies on aid as the largest external source of financing their development. Aid has not done much in helping to change the destinies of many African states as underdevelopment and poverty is still widespread on the continent, while some states are considered to have failed (Andrews, 2009). Moyo (2009) asserted that foreign aid is not the potential solution to the development quandary of Africa, that it is rather the problem and not the solution to Africa’s development challenge. She maintains that, aid engenders a culture of dependency and promotes corruption which hampers growth and contributes to underdevelopment and economic problems in the aid reliant countries. She finally suggests complete end to aid to Africa within a specified period of time.
