We often focus on the success of African immigrants in the United States, United Kingdom and even in Canada; however, we rarely talk about the role and importance the African diaspora has to play in the constructing of a strong African economy.
Take Ghana for example; the country has a strong presence in several countries around the globe, with an estimated about-1,000,000 in the diaspora – over three percent of the country’s population.
In fact, a 2015 report from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) showed that approximately 235,000 Ghanaians (1st and 2nd generation immigrants combined) lived in the United States, while also maintaining stable professional jobs such as doctors and lawyers. This number has grown significantly over the years, especially when one considers the incremental growth of students studying in Ghana – a 3% increase from 2017 to 2018.
According to report of the US Embassy in Ghana, Ghana is the number-three country with international students from Africa to the US. More often than not, these students stay back and get juicy jobs in the US – swelling the rich diaspora pool. The Ghanaian presence on the global front is clear.
The diaspora community has helped to spread the rich cultural ethos marked by the famous Kente material that has become the symbol for pride of Blackness in the US. What is also clear is that the Ghanaian diaspora contributes significantly to the country’s economy in the form of remittances.
At the start of the year, the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Ghana were in talks about providing diaspora bonds for Ghana – a first of its kind in the country’s history. According to Bloomberg, these bonds will be used to improve infrastructural and economic development in Ghana.
Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta spoke on the issue earlier this year, and said that he had plans to have phased issuance of the bonds by end of 2020; however, with the current outlook due to the global pandemic (COVID-19), there might be some slight readjustments. Ghana plans to raise a total of US$3billion fromdiaspora bonds, and this could be achievable considering previous investments made by the Ghanaian diaspora.
According to several reports, diaspora re-investment as well as the financial transactions which occur in Ghana accounts for US$7billion per annum – which is not far off the country’s national budget of US$10billion. In addition, the per capita contribution of the diaspora is reported to be in excess of US$7,000 for each Ghanaian abroad.
The Ghanaian diaspora also contributes significantly in the area of telecommunications. Today’s society relies singly on technology for connecting people together, and this is the case for the Ghanaian diaspora trying to reconnect with their family members in Ghana.
On average, Ghanaians in the United States spend close to US$100million yearly making phone calls to family members back home, which benefits the U.S. mobile carriers as well as local carriers on the ground in Ghana.
If the plan to open up the country to African-Americans through the homecoming projects which continue to blossom – especially with racial tensions running high in the United States, we will see not just see the growth in tourism but more remittances to Ghana by more African-Americans who adopt the country as their home.
Ghana’s diaspora has kept its promise of contributing its fair share to the progression and advancement of its country’s economy with the added advantages they have received from their current place of residency. This just goes to show that you can make an impact from afar without necessarily being on the ground in Ghana.
>>>Paul writes from Washington DC. He is a 2019 graduate of The George Washington University and currently works as a Social Media and Research Intern for Corporate Council on Africa. He can be reached on [email protected]; Twitter:@wfdjpaul; Instagram:@worldfamousdjpaul”
The post Paul Olele’s thoughts….The Ghanaian Diaspora: Important to the local economy appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.
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