How Covid-19 Can Be An Opportunity For Africans To Boost Their Economy
Well the popular saying, "when one door closes another opens" readily comes to mind seeing the effect of covid-19 the world over. Ofcourse we all agree that we want this virus to be exterminated from us for us all to go back to our normal lives but we cannot also overlook how independent it has made countries all over the world have become. I mean suddenly countries especially in Africa are begining to look within themselves and what we can do to survive on our own without depending on the West because the West themselves are under attack of Coronavirus.
The President has extended our border closure I read to another 2 weeks starting from 5th April 2020 as tweeted by Minister for Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah. I cannot be overexcited about this news enough. I mean I think the government acted too late in implementing this lockdown of our ports especially, not the nationwide lockdown though because I don't think communities should have been locked down if we were proactive but the entry and exit points of the country.
The moment this Covid-19 thing raised it's ugly head in Africa, the first thing we should have done was to lockdown our borders, land, air and sea completely, nothing goes out, nothing comes in. Initially I can understand the effect on the economy as some businesses depend heavily on imports. But I think this can only affect companies that rely heavily on imports which I don't think can significantly affect the economy that much although it will especially for Companies that produce using imported raw materials but even with that I think the government can make an exception for raw materials and medical supplies not for human travel. I speak of our sea ports especially.
I am thinking it's an opportunity for local producers to feed the country and provide a substitute for all the items we have being importing into the country like rice, tin tomatoes, fruit juices, detergents, soaps, groceries etc. Closure of the borders I don't think affects the service industry like our banks, insurance companies, hospitals, schools, hotels, restaurants etc. All these should have been allowed to operate at the time when the community cases was only 3, majority or almost all the cases was imported into the country by travellers.
This border lockdown would have been an opportunity for the government to pump money into local production of both primary and secondary produce thereby creating more jobs and goods supplies that goes to eventually boost the economy. How do we even receive supplies from countries that their economy has been now locked down by this Covid-19. It's an opportunity for the government as a form of a contingent plan to channel some of its resources in pursuing the one district, one factory agenda. We know that foreign companies like that of Lebanese, Indians, Chinese etc will suffer because they cannot import much. Our local producers can now catch up with them in production and sales.
For sure this lockdown will lead to massive unemployment both in Ghana and globally. This is the time for local producers to be empowered to absorb the youth that will be laid off because of economic stagnation by foreign companies because of covid-19. By the time our border bans would be lifted, we would have rehearsed the process of being able to stand and be on our own without necessarily depending on the West for imports of our necessities.
AFRICA'S case in this pandemic should not be a case of a hen that has been kept so long under a basket that even if the basket is lifted it still doesn't move because it still believes it has been caged or still limited in movement. Covid-19 is a spectacle for us to see the World as the same everywhere and we can also make it here. What affects the whites affects the black and we are all vulnerable. Covid-19 did not discriminate between America and Africa, Europe and Africa, Asia and Africa, we mustn't also allow economic development, growth and progress to discriminate amongst us henceforth.
The President has extended our border closure I read to another 2 weeks starting from 5th April 2020 as tweeted by Minister for Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah. I cannot be overexcited about this news enough. I mean I think the government acted too late in implementing this lockdown of our ports especially, not the nationwide lockdown though because I don't think communities should have been locked down if we were proactive but the entry and exit points of the country.
The moment this Covid-19 thing raised it's ugly head in Africa, the first thing we should have done was to lockdown our borders, land, air and sea completely, nothing goes out, nothing comes in. Initially I can understand the effect on the economy as some businesses depend heavily on imports. But I think this can only affect companies that rely heavily on imports which I don't think can significantly affect the economy that much although it will especially for Companies that produce using imported raw materials but even with that I think the government can make an exception for raw materials and medical supplies not for human travel. I speak of our sea ports especially.
I am thinking it's an opportunity for local producers to feed the country and provide a substitute for all the items we have being importing into the country like rice, tin tomatoes, fruit juices, detergents, soaps, groceries etc. Closure of the borders I don't think affects the service industry like our banks, insurance companies, hospitals, schools, hotels, restaurants etc. All these should have been allowed to operate at the time when the community cases was only 3, majority or almost all the cases was imported into the country by travellers.
This border lockdown would have been an opportunity for the government to pump money into local production of both primary and secondary produce thereby creating more jobs and goods supplies that goes to eventually boost the economy. How do we even receive supplies from countries that their economy has been now locked down by this Covid-19. It's an opportunity for the government as a form of a contingent plan to channel some of its resources in pursuing the one district, one factory agenda. We know that foreign companies like that of Lebanese, Indians, Chinese etc will suffer because they cannot import much. Our local producers can now catch up with them in production and sales.
For sure this lockdown will lead to massive unemployment both in Ghana and globally. This is the time for local producers to be empowered to absorb the youth that will be laid off because of economic stagnation by foreign companies because of covid-19. By the time our border bans would be lifted, we would have rehearsed the process of being able to stand and be on our own without necessarily depending on the West for imports of our necessities.
AFRICA'S case in this pandemic should not be a case of a hen that has been kept so long under a basket that even if the basket is lifted it still doesn't move because it still believes it has been caged or still limited in movement. Covid-19 is a spectacle for us to see the World as the same everywhere and we can also make it here. What affects the whites affects the black and we are all vulnerable. Covid-19 did not discriminate between America and Africa, Europe and Africa, Asia and Africa, we mustn't also allow economic development, growth and progress to discriminate amongst us henceforth.
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