Dr. Ha-Joon
DR HA-JOON Chang, Director of the Centre of Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK, has appealed to Government to import tried and tested technologies used by developed countries in its quest to competitively develop the country.
Speaking at a forum organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) yesterday in Accra on the theme: “Destiny or Policy? – Development Prospects for Ghana”, Dr Chang also noted that: “developing country protection and nurturing infant industries were absolutely necessary, although these could be implemented in diverse ways.”
He also advised that Government should encourage cooperatives among exporters adding that a sustained export success required a continuous stream of new industries, promoted through the infant industry protection programme.
“In the early stages of development, it is inevitable that you should exploit the agriculture sector because surplus labour have to be extracted from the sector.”
The renowned author of several research works also told Government to invest back into agriculture by way of developing rural infrastructure adding that under-development was not a destiny, just that policies made the difference.
He said the developed economies of today espoused to several of such policies and mixed them to their advantage.
Indicating that developing countries had lost their ambitions, Dr Chang warned: “You cannot just copy the policies of the past. There are plenty of lessons that can be drawn from history in an intelligent manner. You need people who are smart, have sound judgment and pragmatic.”
“Go back 50 years, 100 years, or 150 years and read how they described the developing countries of old. Aim high but you have to get this step by step.
“In getting there, you have to be totally realistic. You have to take calculated steps.”
Commenting on foreign direct investment (FDI), he stated: “Developing countries are very much obsessed with FDIs these days. I am not against it but they should look at attracting the right ones and at the right times. FDI is not going to develop your country for you.”
He said Africa was uniquely disadvantaged by metaphysical structural factors that made its growth prospect bleak, arguing that individual countries had to employ policies unique to their situations.
In 1961, Ghana’s GDP per capita income was 139 dollars according to Dr Charles Mensah, convener of the forum. Today it is only 1,381 dollars whereas South Korea’s which used to be 91 dollars at the same time, now is $30,000.
BY Samuel Boadi
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