Terror at the Door: Welcome to the New Normal
The Caliphate | Sunni Wahabism | Radicalisation | Western Ignorance & Interventionism | Global Hegemony | Soviet-Afghan War | Boko Haram | Al-Shabab | Al-Qaeda | ISIS | Kenya | Lebanon | Libya | Egypt…
Writings
Road Accidents in Africa: Time to Act on Enforcement
According to this Economist article Road accidents are the leading cause of death among 15- to 29-year-olds globally, according to a report published by the World Health Organisation on October 19th. Forty of the 50…
The Mo Ibrahim Index, Governance and Economic Growth in Africa
Introduction Governance in Africa has evolved and gone are the days when men, clad in military uniform, would just pop out of nowhere to seize the national radio and television station to announce to the…
Implications of China’s Economic Slowdown on African Markets
1. Emerging Challenges Monday 23 August 2015, was a terrible day for global markets as sell-offs hit global stocks across almost every sector driven by China’s stock market. As at close of day, what had generated…
Policy Paper | Petroleum Product Pricing, Deregulation and Subsidies in Ghana
I reproduce below my latest policy paper published on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) Title: Petroleum Product Pricing, Deregulation and Subsidies in Ghana: Perspectives on Energy Security Authors: Theophilus Acheampong (University of Aberdeen) and…
State-led Capitalism and the Rise of Asia’s Global Companies: Any Lessons for Africa?
So, top of the list of the just released 2015 edition of the Fortune 500 companies are the usual suspects and industries: US based companies leading but China is steadily catching up. Chinese firms, back…
Initial Thoughts on Ghana’s Proposed 40 Year National Development Plan
Like I said yesterday on another wall, most of our political parties write up their manifestos only to come into power to be met with medium term development frameworks (e.g. Coordinated Programme of Economic and…
Exploring the Nexus: Hiplife as Economic Policy?
Reggie Rockstone | Kekeke | TH4Kwagees | VIP | Tic Tac | Obrafuor | Batman Samini| Okomfuor Kwadee | Akatakyie | Akyeame | Tinny | Buk-Bank | Sass Squad | Obour | etc. Remember any…
African Entrepreneurs and Startups: Celebrating an Innovator and Entrepreneur
Young entrepreneurs from Africa and across the world can learn a lot from Bright Simons, 33, and his MPedigree Network. Extracts From the Bloomberg Feature Article “A Ghanaian entrepreneur thinks he has an answer [answer…
Rhetoric Versus Reality: Africa’s Middle Class Consumption Missing?
What happened to the oft-touted mantra that improving economies on the African continent will provide a paradise for consumer goods salesmen? It was the expectation that Africa’s burgeoning middle class will provide the catalyst for consumer goods and…
Guest Post: Will the Cedi (GHS) revert?
By Dr. Hene Aku Kwapong, The Songhai Group. I have no idea when the word “revert” as in “I will revert” ever became so pervasive in offices throughout Ghana and came to mean “I’ll get…
Review of Ghana’s 2014 Economic Performance and Mid-Year 2015 Outlook
So, the Minister of Finance of Ghana was at Parliament yesterday to ask for an additional budget spending of GH¢866 million (US$270 million) to the 2015 budget. The original budget, presented in November 2014, had envisaged total revenue…
Theo Acheampong speaks to the BBC on the Ghana-Ivory Coast maritime Border Dispute
Theo Acheampong speaks to the BBC Africa Business Report on the Ghana-Ivory Coast maritime border dispute and the impact of petroleum activities on Ghana’s economy. Ghana told to hit brakes on oil exploration – BBC…
Ghana’s Energy Sector in Perspective: Reactions to Craig Murray’s “IMF and USA set to ruin Ghana” Article
Just read Craig Murray’s article titled “IMF and USA set to ruin Ghana” and though he ― as a former Deputy British High Commissioner to Ghana and an insider― makes some interesting points about the neo-colonialist agenda…
Petroleum Product Pricing and Deregulation in Ghana: Politics or Time for Reality Check?
For those complaining about recent hikes in petroleum prices, it is important to note that the main driver of these increments is the exchange rate as can be seen in chart 1 below. Therefore, though…