ABSTRACT
The study examined how Ghana could harness its the potentials of is Diaspora to complement its development efforts. One of the biggest diasporas in recent times is that of the African diaspora or more specifically the Sub-Saharan diaspora. It used both primary and secondary sources to review, since independence, how successive governments have exploited the potentials of Ghana’s rich Diaspora in their development agenda. It uncovered that the diaspora constitutes one of the most reliable sources of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), entrepreneurs, specialised human resources, ethics and concepts of best practices, philanthropists, foreign currency remittances and agents of technology transfer. Ghana’s engagement of the Diaspora to complement its development was intensified in the 1980s and l990s when Ghana’s economic fortunes declined, and ERP and SAP were instituted. The advent of multi-party politics from the l990s upped Ghana’s Diaspora engagement through policy instruments such as reinvention Pan-Africanism, dual-citizenship, Diaspora Home-Coming festivals, Non-Resident Ghanaian Secretariat for Investment, the Joseph Project, creation of Tourism and Diaspora Relations Ministry, the Diaspora Support Unit, and the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) for Diaspora Engagement. These Diaspora engagement policies were, however, largely ad hoc strategies that lost their significance with change of governments. The study emphasized the need for a more coherent and comprehensive Diaspora engagement national policy that involves all sectors of the Ghanaian society. It recommended that future Diaspora policies formulations must involve the Diaspora, creation of a robust Diaspora database, and a proactive redressal of the Diaspora’s needs and challenges abroad for a better harnessing of the Diaspora’s development potentials to Ghana.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
Human migration has been going on for a long time. Lee raises a myriad of reasons for the occurrence of migration, principal among them is the push and pull.1 The push and pull factor categorizes the reasons for migration into things that are unfavorable or unattractive for staying (push) and things which attract people to another area (pull). Some examples of pull factors according to Lee are job opportunity, improved living conditions, better medical care and family reasons. Among the push factors are lack of jobs, famine, wars or military conflicts, forced labour and slave trade.2 Migration results in the creation of the diaspora, which although maybe be closely linked with forced migration, can also be voluntary.
One of the biggest Diasporas in recent times is that of the African diaspora or more specifically the Sub-Saharan diaspora.3 This can be traced back chiefly to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade which is estimated to have resulted in the transportations of millions of Africans to the Americas among whom 9.4-12 million are estimated to have survived.4 These groups and their descendants impacted heavily on the culture and economies of the New World colonies. Preceding the Trans- Atlantic Slave Trade was the Arab-controlled slave trade, which also resulted in the dispersal of millions of Africans to the Asian continent.5 In recent times, Africans have migrated out of the continent mainly for economic and conflict reasons.6 The main preferred destinations have been Europe and America. According to the Migration Policy Institute, approximately 7 to 8 million irregular migrants from Africa reside within the European Union (EU).7
The neoliberal bearings that supports the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, Western donor countries and agencies had produced stringent and austerity economic models which resulted in a plethora of cumbersome outcomes for the governments and peoples of Africa.8 These experiences have not gone unnoticed by African leaders who are very familiar with the economic packages and policies from these Western neoliberal institutions. It has become apparent that any form of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that would benefit Africa without such excessive demands would be appreciably welcomed.9 This understanding provided a clear framework by which the African Diaspora could be engaged for the development of the African continent.
