Is Ghana the Gateway to Africa?

While our leaders are seriously spending time, energy and money promoting Ghana as or to become the gateway to Africa, it is very important to make sure that the support mechanisms needed to implement whatever promises are made in these promotions are available to these potential investors once they are in Ghana and also when they get back to their respective countries. While I always give credit to Kuffour and even Rawlings administrations for what they did and are doing to bring the country back to normalcy, I do not hesitate in criticizing them for what needs to be done to accelerate the process of making Ghana a better place for all of us. I have been involved at different capacities in bringing Americans to Ghana for trade or tourism or both. Also in many cases, I have had the chance of meeting with top government and business personnel including the president himself. The purpose of this article is to make a few things very clear to the people who plan for our country and also to alert them of some of the things that may make their efforts counterproductive to the course they are planning to take. The next paragraphs will highlight a few of the issues that I think need to be addressed carefully to help propel Ghana to the next level.

      The Kotoka International Airport. If Ghana wants to be the gateway to Africa, then the main physical gate will be the only international airport in Ghana- the kotoka International Airport. I just returned from Ghana about a month ago and hence the information presented here is as accurate and recent as one can imagine. If we want Ghana to be the gateway, then both the physical and operational aspects of this airport should in fact show that we are the GATE. At least till March 17th, 2005, we cannot claim ?anywhere in my books? that we have the gate. If we claim we are, then we are making a mockery of Mother Ghana. This is why. Once you get out of the plane in Ghana, there is only one entry to get inside the airport. I...