By King Amoah, Kumasi
In a provocative call to action, Nana Boakye Yiadom Atonsa II, the Chief of Denanase a town within the Afigya Kwabere North Municipality in the Ashanti region has disclosed that Ghana stands the chance of economic breakthrough if the authorities would courageously revert to an ideology purportedly championed by the Ghana’s first President Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
This ideology according to Nana Atonsa II who also holds the position of Atenehene of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, involves the strategic adoption of the British pounds sterling, alongside the US dollar as a major official state currency.
Speaking Insight Newspaper Correspondent in an exclusive interview Nana Boakye Yiadom Atonsa II drew a direct parallel between Nkrumah’s alleged post independence currency policy and the remarkable economic progress witnessed during his era.
Ghana stands the opportunity to make economic breakthrough if the authorities revert to the days where after Ghana’s independence, the late President Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah applied an ideology to use our colonial masters (British) pounds sterling in addition to the US dollars as an official currencies to build the country, he disclosed.
Nana Atonsa II indicated that it was through the strategic deployment of these foreign currencies that Dr. Nkrumah was able to lay the foundational pillars of the modern Ghana’s economy.
He cited an impressive list of enduring national assets including the establishment of numerous factories, the monumental Akosombo Dam, state universities, schools, harbours, and airports among other facilities that Ghanaians continue to benefit from them today.
The Denanase Chief lamented that this far sighted approach was unfortunately abandoned after Nkrumah’s overthrow.
He pointed out that certain elements wronged Nkrumah’s dollar use in the country as show of power but unknown to them that those foreign currencies have great values to build a strong economy.
He further observed that after Nkrumah’s removal the usage of pounds sterling in addition to dollars were abolished in the country.
Reflecting on the ensuing decades Nana Atonsa II questioned the wisdom of this abandonment.
Today what do we see? he posed rhetorically and highlighted that today, “all business communities including government itself complains about business and economic lapses due to currency depreciation and failures.
He expressed his frustration with a national reliance on daily currency exchange appreciation that is not stable or guaranteed and asked that if so then where is the country heading to?
Nana Atonsa II also underlined the debilitating effect of the current currency challenges on Ghana’s sovereignty and negotiating power.
He contended that the nation’s reliance on foreign loans often accompanied by restrictive conditions stems from the knowledge of lenders that without their dollars and pounds sterling our economic development or our breakthrough would be doubtful.
This situation, he said renders Ghana powerless to criticize our borrowers.
Concluding his impassioned advocacy, Nana Atonsa II declared that those who once criticized Nkrumah’s currency strategy have now realized their shame but they are quite as the country continue to suffer.
He therefore urged unequivocally, I advocate that authorities should go back to our colonial masters for negotiations so that with their intervention we resort to use pounds sterling as our official currency to ensure the total economic breakthrough of the country.
