Deputy Director of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Nii Tetteh Laryea Cyril, has commended President John Dramani Mahama for emphasizing the need for African countries to change their approach to producing, trading, and deriving value from their natural resources. Speaking on Ahotor FM's Yepe Ahunu programme, Nii Tetteh Laryea said President Mahama's message during his recent international engagements was crucial in highlighting Africa's long-standing challenge of exporting raw materials and importing finished products.
Nii Tetteh Laryea argued that African countries must increasingly process their own raw materials, manufacture finished products, and strengthen trade among themselves. He described President Mahama's message as a new paradigm and course that Africa must adopt to add value to its resources. According to him, Africa is endowed with significant mineral and agricultural resources but continues to lose economic value because much of its raw materials are exported without sufficient processing.
The Deputy Director of YEA cited Ghana's cocoa industry as an example, noting that although Ghana is a major producer of cocoa, much of the economic value is generated after raw cocoa leaves the country and is processed into chocolates and other finished products. He said Ghana must therefore move beyond simply producing and exporting raw cocoa and develop stronger domestic capacity to process the commodity into finished and semi-finished products.
Nii Tetteh Laryea said President Mahama's message was effectively encouraging African leaders to adopt a new approach to economic development, focusing on building industries capable of transforming raw materials into finished products. This, he argued, would create jobs, generate foreign exchange, strengthen local industries, and enable African countries to retain a greater share of the wealth generated from their resources.
He also emphasized the importance of stronger intra-African trade, which could help countries on the continent retain more wealth within Africa while creating opportunities for businesses to expand into regional markets. According to him, African countries, including Ghana, must identify their competitive advantages and develop the industrial capacity required to benefit fully from their natural resources.
Nii Tetteh Laryea also highlighted the role of the Ghanaian diaspora in national development, saying Ghanaians living outside the country should be viewed as an important resource whose knowledge, skills, investment, and international experience could contribute to Ghana's development. He argued that the country must create conditions that encourage people to work, invest, and establish businesses in Ghana.
Ultimately, Nii Tetteh Laryea maintained that Africa's development depends on its ability to build its own productive capacity rather than remaining primarily a supplier of raw materials to external markets. He stressed that the broader objective should be to create an economy capable of providing opportunities for citizens both at home and abroad.
Key points
- African countries must process their own raw materials and manufacture finished products to add value to their resources.
- Ghana must develop stronger domestic capacity to process cocoa into finished and semi-finished products.
- Stronger intra-African trade can help countries retain more wealth within Africa and create opportunities for businesses.
