1.0 Introduction

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) known as the global goals have been a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The global indicators framework of the SDG has been built around 17 goals, 169 targets and 232 indicators globally to achieve 2030 agenda for sustainable development. These goals include no poverty (Goal 1), zero hunger (Goal 2), good health & wellbeing (Goal 3), quality education (Goal 4), gender equality (Goal 5), clean water and sanitation (Goal 6), affordable and clean energy (Goal 7), economic growth with decent work  (Goal 8), industry, innovation and infrastructure (Goal 9) and partnerships to achieve the goal (Goal 17) (http://wwwunstats.in.orgSDGindicators)

1.1 Paradigm shift to new growth model to achieve SDGs targets and indicators

In the lens of the best and valued practices of the West and South and East Asian countries including China and India and further in the lens of 219 Years Economic Evolution of Ghana (1800-2019), the main argument of the author is that Ghana positioned to achieve a new growth model-– growth with development- technological transformation of the Ghanaian economy that will lead to structural and economic transformation of the Ghanaian economy- as the blueprint economic policy in Ghana, the political and strategic direction of the country, the ideology of Ghana and as the lifeblood of the Ghanaian economy will position the Ghanaian economy to ensure thorough, effective and successful implementation of the SDG agenda in Ghana to achieve the goals, targets and indicators.

1.1.1 A Blueprint economic policy in Ghana

This blueprint economic policy in Ghana that will provide a clear direction of the two key sectors of the Ghanaian economy: education and the economy with implications on the other sectors of the economy will guide and lead the development and implementation of national development plans and frameworks, education reforms, education strategic plans, curriculum development and development of strategic documents in the country including the political parties manifestos. This new growth model- growth with development-technological transformation of Ghanaian economy will position Ghana onto a prosperity paradigm of industrialisation, export-driven culture and cedi stability, creation of more jobs and fruitful employment to improve the quality of life, standard of living and wellbeing of Ghanaians, the ultimate objective of the SDG agenda in Ghana.

This paradigm shift to this new growth model in Ghana- for example as pointed out in my previous write-ups, will position the Ghanaian economy to achieve a paradigm shift of import-driven culture economy to export-driven culture economy to achieve stability of the Ghana cedi. For example, the new growth model will position education, science, technology and innovation including TVET (Technical, Vocational Education and Training) to add value to the bauxite worth of US$ 50 billion in its raw state form in Ghana to attain its full potential value of US$400 billion. This will include value addition to Ghana cocoa, cashew, gold, diamond, salt, limestone, iron ore, oil, gas, solar energy and lithium. The industries in Ghana will also use the Ghana technology developed to produce to meet international standards, diversify, upgrade, add value and develop into strong export-oriented industries to make new, better, cheaper and quality products, the best the world could offer to put Ghana on a prosperity paradigm of industrialisation.

This new growth model in Ghana will also position the Free Senior High School (SHS) Policy in Ghana to fine-tune the education system in Ghana to redraw the map of learning in Ghana to produce the best scientists, engineers, technologists and creative geniuses in other disciplines in the academic world to produce context-dependent knowledge-what will work and what will not work in Ghana-to produce Ghana’s technology. This will give Ghana the best engineering techniques in road construction, the best technology in infrastructure development, housing, waste management and development of refineries to add value to the raw rich natural resources in the country. This will provide enough revenue to fund and sustain the Free SHS Policy in Ghana and to work to achieve the SDGs targets and indicators and address the myriad of problems in the country. The Ghanaian economy positioned in the raw state form to the extent that the purity and value analysis of the rich natural resources are in most cases done outside for the government just to be told that the raw bauxite or gold sent worth so much, it will be difficult to get the real expected impact of the policy interventions in the country to improve the quality of life, standard of living and wellbeing of Ghanaians. The implications of this has been that, with all the investment in education and the skills and values acquired through education in Ghana, it is difficult to tell a time in Ghana history since Independence in 1957 when the country has experienced a boom to pay its debt. Ghana economy has also changed little with little value addition since Independence in 1957.

2.0 Ghana growth and development path

Ghana growth and development path for decades has in a linear, deterministic and mechanistic way has strictly manifested itself as a dependent model of development in Ghana. This has marginalised the country in technology and productivity-growth without development.  This has made it difficult for policy reforms in Ghana to work to address the internal and external exploitative tensions in the country.  Ghana –for example is among the marginalised countries in technology and productivity with technology achievement index (TAI) of 0.14 and ranked 63th position out of 67 countries. South Korea has been ranked 5th position with TAI of 0.67. Malaysia has been ranked 28th position with TAI of 0.40. Finland topped the list with TAI of 0.74 while the world average was 0.40 (Gudyanga, 2011). In the share of manufacturing value added (MVA) in GDP Ghana recorded MVA per capita (in US$) to be 43 compared to 3434 in South Korea and 1258 in Malaysia (UNCTAD, 2003). Ghana’s productivity gap, value added per agriculture worker would have to increase by a factor of 3 to match the Philippines or by a factor of 10 to reach Brazil’s productivity level. Philippines and Brazil compete with Ghana on a range of agriculture products (UNCTAD, 2011).

Technological transformation of Ghanaian economy as the blueprint economic policy in Ghana will enhance technology and productivity development in Ghana to make policy reforms in the country work to address the internal and external exploitative tensions in the country to achieve the SDG targets and indicators in Ghana. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation has developed a Science and Technology Framework to bridge the technology gap between Ghana and the rest of the world. This has been supported with the establishment of Presidential Advisory on Science, Technology and Innovation (PASTI) with 1% of GDP to fund R&D (Research & Development) in the short to medium term and will increase to 2.5% in the long-term. Bridging the technology gap in Ghana cannot be achieved without the Ministry of Education mandated to develop the human resource base also committing itself to develop the critical mass of scientists, engineers, technologists, innovators and other creative geniuses in other disciplines. The Ministry of Education with the support of the government and approval of the Cabinet has taken initiatives to invest in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education in Ghana amongst other scientific initiatives in the Ministry of Education. With the understanding that countries that have developed robust science, technology and innovation policy including TVET covering all technical institutes have developed strong industrial base (Germany, USA, China, South Korea, India, Malaysia, Japan, Finland to mention but a few), the government of Ghana initiatives  also includes the flagship programmes-for example one district, one factory to build strong industrial base in Ghana. With these interventions, the question has been what is the problem in Ghana?

2.1 The Problem in Ghana

It will be recalled that Ghana at Independence (1951-1966) many scientific and technological institutions were established. This had positioned Ghana to have had substantial institutional capacity for human resource development in education, science, technology and innovation. The Government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the First President of Ghana again invested in massive industrialisation of Ghanaian economy. The theoretical and empirical evidence-however had revealed that although the Seven Year development plan in the early 1960s had emphasized an expansion in education and skilled manpower, these were desired for their own sake and not necessarily as significant inputs into the industrialisation process in Ghana (Aryeetey & Kanbur, 2017). The question has been that with the expansion of education and skilled manpower not significant inputs into Ghana’s industrialisation how could the country at its university level produce scientifically-technical minded Ghanaians? This had- therefore made it difficult as a country to produce scientifically-technical minded Ghanaians to technologically transform the Ghanaian economy to achieve structural and economic transformation for a rapid development of the country. It is important also to note that the former Soviet Union that was also strong on education to produce scientists and engineers also experienced ‘a basket-case economy’ (Kerr, 2001, p.11). A basket –case economy, according to Hornby (2010) suggests that ‘Soviet Union economic situation was very bad’ (p.112).

Ghana’s early industrialisation policy was therefore described as arrested development (Gillis, 1992), an industrialisation that suddenly stops at birth, failure at the period of inception (Waite, 2012) and development with weak backward linkage (Yankson, 1992). Consequently, the Ghanaian economy was bankrupt at the time Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the First President of Ghana was overthrown in February 1966 with net external reserves deteriorated from a surplus of US$269 million to deficit of US$391 million (Aryeetey & Kanbur, 2017) with mass unemployment among school leavers. Workers Brigade was used as stopgaps to address the unemployment problems in the country (Foster, 1965). To date, this problem has remained unaddressed in Ghana with industrial hurdles, growing joblessness and graduate unemployment in the country with stopgaps such as builders corps used to ameliorate the problem of graduate unemployment in the country.

2.1.1 The Gap in education and the Ghanaian economy

Again, it is worthy of note that Ghana and the Republic of Korea had similar gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 1958 (p.10) with ‘enrolment of students in science and technology discipline approximately equivalent, at about 50 percent of the student population’ (World Bank, 2002, p.12) with ‘Ghana’s per capita income identified it as a middle-income, comparable to South Korea’ (Aryeetey and Fenny, 2017, p.45). However, while ‘South Korean government has actively promoted university-industry partnership, this has not been the case in Ghana (World Bank, 2002, p.12) leading to the difference in knowledge, technology and economic evolution of Ghana and South Korea between 1958 and 1990 (World Bank, 2002). This paralysis of the university-industry partnership programmes in Ghana with its growing joblessness and graduate unemployment problem in the country have not enhanced the utilisation and diffusion of the skills and competencies in Ghana to enhance the total factor productivity in Ghana. This is ‘a measure of output per unit of input, raising it will lead to higher standards of living’ in Ghana (World Bank, 2002, p.10).

In the gap in education and Ghanaian economy, it is also important to note that  In Finland, under an industrialised education system, the young University of Oulu drawing on the creative knowledge and ingenuity of the communities has transformed the small rural community of Oulu into a high-technology zone. The question arises as to what has happened to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Zuame Magazine in Kumasi in the Ashanti region, just a stone thrown.  And yet, the gem of technological innovation in Ghanaians were demonstrated as far back in 1800 when gold smith technology was discovered with the use of alkaline salt derived from the ash of dry maize stalk for technology of smelting and refining of gold in Ghana. This creative knowledge of the Ghanaian communities has not been drawn on by education, science, technology and innovation in Ghana to develop Ghana’s technology and refinery.  

This suggests that education for industrialisation in Ghana should have taken on board by now Ghana industrial estates and have them integrated into the national educational system. These are Suame Magazine in Kumasi; Odorna, Kokompe and Katanka Ltd in Accra amongst others to have them transformed into technology zones to produce farm equipments, tools and machines to support the Planting for Food and Jobs and Rearing for Food and Jobs strategy. The industrialised education system will draw on the discovery-driven culture of the universities and newly created Technical universities and the innovation-driven environment of the industries and craftsmanship and creative energy of the Ghanaian communities to bridge the gap in education, industry, economy and the communities to technologically transform the Ghanaian economy which will lead to structural and economic transformation of Ghanaian economy.

Consequently, this suggests that in Ghana the higher education system, science, technology and innovation has operated in parallel with little connection and linkage with the productive sectors of the economy. A senior lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)-accordingly noted ‘I was a member of the Team that planned and developed the mechanical engineering syllabus and training for mechanical engineering department of KNUST. We could not get any input from our political leaders of the direction and the productive sectors of the economy to determine the number of engineers, scientists, technologists to be trained (Karikari-Ababio, 2013, p. 123). The lecturer again noted ‘sometimes we ask questions what we were training the students for and we could not answer those questions. The university expected the government and the politicians to provide answers while the government and the politicians expected the universities to provide answers’ (Karikari-Ababio, 2013, p.124). This has again questioned the education strategic plans (ESP) and curriculum, syllabus and textbooks developed in Ghana. This suggests that in Ghana, the Free SHS Policy and One district, one factory, notwithstanding, without a blueprint economic policy in Ghana-technological transformation of the Ghanaian economy that will provide a clear direction of education and the economy to create the synergy to achieve the kind of quality education that will lead to technological, structural and economic transformation of Ghanaian economy, Ghana can produce the scientists and engineers; but Ghana will continue to experience a basket-case economy.  

2.1.1.1 Education Strategic Plan in Ghana

Consequently, the vision of the Ministry of Education as stated in the Education Strategic Plan (ESP), 2018-2030- the current education policy in Ghana has been ‘to provide a relevant education to all Ghanaians’. This again suggests and re-iterates the gap in the education system in Ghana and the Ghanaian economy- the genesis of addressing this gap in education and Ghanaian economy.  And yet, the Free SHS Policy and the fourth industrialisation policy in Ghana, one district, one factory in Ghana-notwithstanding, the ESP and curriculum have been developed without the intensive research that will lead to human resource planning and development, partnership and in-firm training frameworks and framework of imbibitions of moral values of Ghanaians to achieve a positive attitude to work and societal change to link education, industry and the economy of Ghana.  The current education policy in Ghana (Education Strategic Plan, ESP, 2018-2030) was developed in 2016 and revised in 2017-2018 and implemented in 2019 without the development of these frameworks. These frameworks will have been the engine drivers in educational development in Ghana to fine-tune the educational system in Ghana to meet the human resource and technological capability needs in Ghana. This will have positioned education and skills human resource development to make them significant inputs into Ghana’s industrialisation to achieve technological transformation of the Ghanaian economy with further implications on structural and economic transformation of the economy as experienced in Singapore, South Korea and India. The implications of this have been that Ghana has developed and implemented not less than six (6) development plans and frameworks and education strategic plans, curriculum, textbook and syllabus reform since Independence in 1957 to date. And yet, transforming education and Ghanaian economy have become mirage, elusive and unaddressed issue. Professor Kwabena  Frimpong –Boateng, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation (MESTI) accordingly noted at ‘ MESTI/CSIR Scientific and Lifetime Recognition Awards’ that: ‘ the economic transformational agenda in Ghana will be stillborn without education, science, industry and agriculture being in tune with one another’(www.graphic.com.gh   Daily Graphic, Tuesday, May 21, 2019, p.29 ).

The implications of this kind of education policy in Ghana for decades  have been that whereas in the case of Ghanaian worker, an extra year of education in Ghana will increase output by 2 percent, in the case of a worker in South Korea an extra year of education in South Korea will increase output by 12 percent (UNIDO, 2010). This has positioned the Ministry of Education to produce unemployable graduates and graduates produced not put to productive use The empirical question has been who is promoting this kind of education policy in Ghana that will not position education in Ghana to be on the driver’s seat of Ghana’s development to achieve technological, structural and economic transformation, add value  to the rich natural resources of the country, more jobs and  fruitful employment, fuller and more fruitful life, improvement of national wellbeing, position export as the engine of growth of the economy to increase foreign exchange reserves and revenue to achieve stability of the Ghanaian currency and an improved economic fundamentals to improve the quality of life, standard of living and wellbeing of Ghanaians? And Why?

3.0 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda in Ghana.

Thus whereas a series of economic development plans in South Korea created the synergy in their education and economy to technologically transform their economy, in Ghana for example, Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS I, 2003-2005) and the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (II, 2006-2009) and the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda I&II (GSGDA, 2010-2013 & 2014-2016) had been developed, cost estimated and implemented without human resource planning and development policy and any recourse to partnership and in-firm training frameworks to generate dependable data and inputs to link education, industry and Ghanaian economy to synergize  education and Ghanaian economy  to address the graduate unemployment problems and myriad of problems in the country.

3.1 Technology the divide in the world

 The technology revolution in the 1980s and 1990s in the United States (Peterson, 1984) ‘helped America with less than 5 percent of the world’s population in the early 1990s to produced about 25 percent of the World’s output in the early 1990s (Dan, 1994). The frontiers of science have remained America’s tradition. This has made the United States great and to maintain the position of world leadership. An increase in industrial research and application of scientific research has provided new products, new processes, new industries, new investment opportunities and millions of jobs in America (Bush, 1945). Thus, whereas in Ghana an increase in population could lead to famine, poor health and shorter life; in America because of science, an increase in population is not accompanied by famine, but more abundant food supply, better living, more leisure, longer life and better health.  The advanced scientific and technological development and industrial growth have positioned Japan as a ‘high tech’ country. In South Korea, there are more than 100, 000 science and engineering students graduating every year. An increasing number of these students are used to provide the optimal environment for investors to create new goods and services suggesting the synergy in its education and industry. Developing countries such as Brazil, India and Malaysia that have made sustained commitments to investments in science, engineering and technology have had increasing success in agro processing industries.

 In this era and to date the literature again posits that countries that have developed robust science, technology and innovation policy at the higher education level and put the products to productive use to enhance the diffusion and utilization of their skills, competency and values supported with industrial scientific research and development are the developed countries in the world, grouped at the top corner of the globe. Failure to do this has condemned nations to remain in or be down-graded to Third World or even Fourth World status-lower corner of the globe. Ghana failure to do this has also been pushed to the lower corner of the globe as an underdeveloped country. Technology- therefore is the divide in the world and technological transformation has been the blueprint economic policy in the advanced capitalist nations. And yet, Ghana has been implementing government of Ghana economic policy and International commitments that have perpetuated a dependent model of development to marginalise the country in technology with further implications to marginalise the country in productivity. For example- the 1973 oil crisis meant many countries had spiraling debts and were left with little choice but to accept World Bank Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs). Ghana also had no choice and in the 80s and 90s implemented the SAPs. Ghana experienced the ‘Lost Decade’ with the country marginalised in technology and productivity with industrial hurdles, growing joblessness and graduate unemployment. The SAPs positioned Ghana as a low-skilled Ghana to be exploited by corporations and advanced capitalist nations. It led to a retrograde ideology-a land of rich in natural resources but most Ghanaians in grinding poverty. 

The ‘Katanga valley, once Ghana’s rice bowl that had contributed to make Ghana self sufficient in rice, now lies fallow and the USA rice and other imported rice have become the staple for Ghanaians. The World Bank in the ‘Lost Decade’ era, in the 80s and 90s ‘insisted that subsidies had to stop and markets’ had to open (Ismi, 2004, p.16). The structural adjustment programmes in Ghana in the 80s and 90s was therefore a textbook example of how to ruin a country. South Korea also implemented the structural adjustment programme and Education For All (EFA); but succeeded in technologically transformed its economy to achieve structural and economic transformation.  And yet, the overall logic of the structural adjustment programmes in Ghana that made Ghana to experience the ‘Lost Decade’ in the 80s and 90s has remained unchanged in the dominant development theories, discourses, policies and practices in Ghana. This suggests in the lens of the best and valued practices in the world, the dearth of knowledge and understanding of the dominant development theories, discourses, policies and practices in Ghana at the leadership position in Ghana. 

3.2 Disentangling the SDGs Agenda in Ghana.

Disentangling the SDGs agenda in Ghana, Goal 4 of the SDG targets and indicators is Quality education but with little emphasis on science, technology and innovation. The emphasis with respect to science, technology and innovation as stated in target 4.3 –however create opportunity for Ghanaian students to have access to scholarship in developed and developing countries at the higher education level. With the poor foundation in science, technology and innovation in Ghana, it will be difficult for Ghanaian child to compete favourably at the higher education level with the best in the world to access scholarships in developed and developing countries as posited in the SDG target 4.3. The implementation of International commitments such as the rates of return analysis as the rationale for investment in education in the 80s and 90s followed by the EFA(Education for All) marginalised the country in technology with further implications to marginalise the country in productivity (Karikari-Ababio, 2013, 2017). The question arises as to how Ghana is going to achieve the SDG agenda in Ghana that will lead to technological transformation of Ghanaian economy and a high performing knowledge –based  economy to put the country on a prosperity paradigm of industrialisation if the country is not positioned to grow its own crop of the best scientists, engineers, technologists, Innovators and other creative geniuses in other disciplines? This has raised questions on how the overall logic of the SDG is different from the rates of return analysis and EFA/MDG agenda in Ghana that marginalised the country in technology. What is the problem in Ghana?

3.2.1 The Problem in Ghana

The problem in Ghana is that the SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) like the EFA/MDG agenda in Ghana has been linked to installing interdependence mechanisms to address poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity in Ghana (https://unstats.un.org ). This has been further linked to international indicators through dissemination and standardization mechanisms. Ghana striving to achieve these goals, targets and indicators will make Ghana to be recognized in the comity of modern states. However, Ghana striving to achieve the goals, targets and indicators in the SDG; to the detriment of technological transformation of the country that will lead to structural and economic transformation of Ghanaian economy; will not position, first the Ghanaian economy even to achieve the SDG targets and indicators and secondary will not bring any benefit to Ghanaians. The problem again is that the interdependence, dissemination and standardization mechanisms have been designed to motivate and mobilize support from the civil society, the media, the NGOs, the ministries, agencies and district assemblies including parliamentarians and policy makers in the country and development partners to mention but a few to focus attention on the SDG indicators and targets to work to achieve the SDGs. This will manifest itself in the form of meetings, writing of memos and minutes, setting agendas, overseas travels, workshops and national forum and budgetary provisions including development partners’ supports, performance agreement contracts and monitoring and evaluation skewed toward the SDGs agenda in Ghana. In Psalm 46: 10, in the Holy Bible, it is written, ‘Be still and know that I am God’. And yet, these activities skewed to the achievement of SDGs targets and indicators but with little emphasis to develop the scientific capital in Ghana will naturally be detrimental and make it difficult for Ghanaians to achieve the stillness of mind to focus on technological transformation of Ghanaian economy to add value to the rich natural resources in Ghana and position export as the engine of growth of Ghanaian economy. And yet, without technological transformation of Ghanaian economy, it will be difficult to achieve the SDGs targets and indicators in Ghana. 

4.0. Conclusion

South Korea’s economy was the 13th in the world as at 2013. This was due to President Park Jung Hee’s “5 year economic plan’- a journey to industrialisation that began in 1962. This plan was evaluated and implemented in China and some Southeast Asian countries. Today, what is China’s story-the second- biggest economy in the world?

4.1 The Trajectory of Intensive Research to unearth the new growth model in Ghana

The author in the lens of the best and valued practices in the West and South and East Asian countries including China and India and further in the lens of 219 Years Economic Evolution of Ghana (1800-2019) has also evaluated the best and valued practices in the world to present a blueprint economic policy of Ghana. This new growth model –technological transformation of Ghanaian economy with clear direction or path of education and Ghanaian economy will put Ghana on a prosperity paradigm. The genesis of the author’s intensive research and critical context analysis of Ghana’s growth and development path started with Master of Finance Degree that the thesis focus had been: The Impact of the Ghana Cedi Exchange Rate on the Economy of Ghana, 2001 at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom (2001). This was followed by the author’s Doctoral Thesis that has focused on education and economy as experienced in Ghana at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom (2013).

Following this has been a synthesis of his doctoral thesis to produce books, scholar and learned papers to unearth this new growth model in Ghana. The books have been (Dynamics of Persistent Underdevelopment: The Case of Ghana, 2017 (Kindle Store: http://wwwamazon.com), The Theory of Change in Ghana, 2017 (http://wwwamazon.com), The Wellbeing of Ghanais, 2018 (digibookspublishing.com) and scholar and learned papers. The scholar and learned papers for local and International Conferences include: Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development in Ghana, 2017; The Leadership in Ghana, 2016; The Lost Quality Education in Ghana, 2016; A Critique of Ghana’s Economic Policy and International Commitments, 2016. This includes concept papers and proposals on the new growth model in Ghana, 2019. It further includes the production of ten (10) working documents on education and Ghanaian economy as experienced. Consequently on the author work in the education sector in Ghana, the former Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Professor Ato Essuman wrote:  Matthew, I am very proud of you and appreciate the good work you are doing at the Ministry. We only need about 5 people in the ministry to demonstrate the kind of commitment and ownership you portray and education will be transformed. Good luck and God be with you (senioressuman@yahoo.com, September 23, 2010, 2:35 AM) (https://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/nco/launch?.

 It is also worth of note that Professor Mario Novelli noted in his comment on Matthew’s Doctoral Research Thesis that:  ‘Matthew you now have a really solid critique of the failure of Ghana to develop. I can see now the kernel of a really excellent and critical research project that could be both theoretically and policy relevant and important for the development of Ghana (M.Novelli@sussex.ac.uk). Professor Mario Novelli, Professor in the Political Economy of Education and Programme Leader, International Doctorate in Education, Centre for International Education (CIE), School of Education & Social Work, University of Sussex, United Kingdom.

On the book 242 paged-document, Dynamics of Persistent Underdevelopment: The Case of Ghana, Professor Stephen Adei, Professor of Economics and Leadership, former Rector, GIMPA, Accra,  also wrote in the foreword: Dr. Matthew Karikari-Ababio has written a good book. This book is full of material and insights on Ghana and not only makes serious intellectual contribution to the development discourse but provides invaluable pointers to new thinking, policies and actions that Ghana must engage in to come out of its dependency model onto a pathway of growth, development and prosperity. This book, therefore, stands the chance of being a reference point for many years(adeistephen@gmail.com).

This is the empirical basis of the new growth model in Ghana-technological transformation of Ghanaian economy that will lead to structural and economic transformation to improve the quality of life, standard of living and the wellbeing of Ghanaians. This in the lens of the best and valued practices in the West and South and East Asian countries including China and India and further in the lens of 219 Years Economic Evolution of Ghana (1800-2019) suggest capacity building of leadership in Ghana to have an in-depth insight and understanding of the dominant development, theories, discourses, policies and practices in Ghana. It further suggests an effective coordination at the leadership position to put Ghana on this new growth model-growth with development – technological transformation of Ghanaian economy to achieve structural and economic transformation of the economy.

It is-therefore worthy of note that the development plans/ frameworks, education strategic plans and other strategic documents in the country have not been cast on stones but are living documents that with effective coordination at the leadership position in Ghana could be aligned and modified to put Ghana on this new growth model to achieve prosperity paradigm in Ghana. This intensive research and content analysis on Ghana growth and development path will also benefit the new strategic development framework that NDPC (National Development Planning Commission) is aiming at developing to improve the quality of life, standard of living and wellbeing of Ghanaians.

Dr. Matthew Karikari-Ababio is a prolific writer, critical social scientist, researcher and development theorist (m_karikari_ababio@yahoo.com