International Diplomatic Consultant, Al-Wahab Farouk, has advised Ghana against considering gold as a high source of revenue over timber and water.
Although gold is of a high commercial value, he argued that it has little to no value to Ghana. “The fact that we have gold does not make us rich. If you don’t use the right processes to mine the gold then it has no value to you. We have no laws governing the mining of gold and that makes us just custodians of the property. The owner and biggest beneficiary of our gold is the one mining and giving you a fraction of it. We are just custodians of the land and give them out to the whites who mine and give us pittances.”
From his economic sense point of view, the economic viability and benefits of timber is superior to gold. “It cannot compare in any way. This means we assess them based on rapidity, viability, commercial volumes and the value of every single person being able to afford.”
According to him, apart from timber, sachet water is also more beneficial than gold because it is bought on a daily basis by everyone. “At the end of the day the number of sachet water drunk by Ghanaians and amount invested in the water business is high. Have you asked yourself if Ghanaians walk into shops to buy gold as much as they do water? That means there is nothing in gold for us compared to the timber and water,” he told Sefah-Danquah on Happy98.9FM’s ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ political talk show.
He pointed out that cocoa, a crop Ghana was once known for as the world’s largest producer is used globally on a daily basis, with America reportedly consuming and using 8 million dollars worth of cocoa products daily. “So if you’re a leading producer of cocoa globally, then how can you go for syndicated loans to harvest cocoa?” he questioned the country’s leaders on its slow paced development.
With Ghana blessed with lots of natural resource deposits including a balanced rainforest and land which are in itself wealth, coupled with a well-educated youthful population, Al-Wahab described the country’s leadership as blockheaded for Ghana suffering economic hardship.
Follow us on Twitter: @happy989fm
Follow us on Instagram: @happy989fm
Like our Facebook page: @happy989fm
Subscribe to Happy TV on YouTube
Listen to us on 98.9 FM and on our affiliate networks;
Neesim 100.1FM – Northern, Savannah and North East Regions
Akonoba 92.7FM – Bono, Ahafo and Bono East Regions
Visit https://www.happyghana.com/ for more updates.
