Deputy Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (Trades Union Congress), Dr Kwabena Otoo, has criticised Ghana’s economic structure, arguing that its continued reliance on raw material exports is limiting transformation and failing to generate decent jobs.
According to him, although Ghana has recorded average growth of about 6 per cent, the composition of that growth remains largely dependent on the export of raw materials—an approach he described as non-transformational.
Dr Otoo said this growth path does not create enough stable and decent employment opportunities, which are essential for poverty reduction and improved living standards.
He contrasted Ghana’s experience with China’s industrialisation model, noting that sustained manufacturing-led growth had transformed China into a global production hub and driven large-scale job creation.
“The growth that has transformed China for 30 years was in double digits. The nature of the growth is also important. Our growth, that 6%, has come largely from production and export of raw materials. That is non-transformational and it doesn’t create the quality decent jobs that you require. China’s growth has been based on manufactures so they became the factory of the world.
“That kind of growth created mass employment but then it also lead to shared growth where in the last 40 years, China has lifted nearly a billion people out of poverty. The opposite is what has happened here, growth based on the production and export of raw materials and then we import everything else,” he said.
He argued that Ghana’s current model risks entrenching dependency, as the country continues to export raw materials while importing finished goods, limiting value addition and job creation.
Dr Otoo stressed the need for a shift towards industrialisation-led growth if the country is to achieve meaningful economic transformation.
