From dependency to destiny

– Financing the future from within

By Dela EVANS

There comes a time in the life of a nation when it must choose between borrowed breath and sovereign heartbeat. Ghana stands at such a threshold. For decades, our development has been financed not by the sweat of our own brow, but by the outstretched hands of foreign lenders and donors. We have built roads with borrowed money, educated our children with grants, and mortgaged our future to service debts whose terms we did not write. This is not destiny—it is dependency dressed as progress.

But the Black Star was never meant to follow. It was forged to lead. This essay is a call to awaken the mythic soul of Ghana—a revival of the Black Star as a living force of self-worth, unity, and economic authorship. We propose two bold instruments to fund our national development from within: the Ghana Development Insurance Scheme (GDIS) and the Ghana Diaspora Bond. These are not mere financial tools; they are patriotic covenants. They invite every Ghanaian—whether earning a salary, investing surplus savings, or living abroad—to become a co-architect of our republic’s renewal.

Inspired by successful models in the Netherlands and anchored in Ghanaian ingenuity, these instruments will mobilize long-term domestic capital, raise our national savings rate, and restore confidence in our ability to finance our own transformation. No longer shall we wait for foreign capital to validate our dreams. The Black Star must shine from within, lit by the hands, hearts, and hopes of its own people.

Ghana Development Insurance Scheme (GDIS): A covenant for all citizens

In the Netherlands, workers invest portions of their gross salaries into long-term life insurance products—shielded from high tax rates during their working years and rewarded with lower pension tax rates upon maturity. This system builds personal wealth while fuelling national capital formation. Ghana can adapt this model with patriotic purpose.

The GDIS is designed to mobilize long-term domestic capital while deepening citizen ownership of national development. It invites every Ghanaian—whether salaried, self-employed, retired, or with surplus savings—to become a co-investor in the republic’s future.

• Participation:
  • Workers may voluntarily invest 5–10percent of their gross salary into a 20–25 year life insurance product administered by licensed Ghanaian insurers.
  • Citizens with surplus cash—entrepreneurs, traders, professionals, and retirees—may also invest lump sums or periodic contributions, enjoying the same tax exemptions and incentives.
• Tax Incentives: Contributions are exempt from current income tax, reducing the burden today. Upon maturity, payouts are taxed at a lower pension rate—creating a 20–30percent tax differential incentive.
• Guarantees: The Government of Ghana and the Bank of Ghana will jointly implement a Deposit Guarantee Framework, ensuring the safety of principal investments.
• Returns: Indexed to inflation plus a modest yield, preserving real value and encouraging long-term participation.

Currently, Ghana’s national savings rate hovers around 13.3percent of GDP, compared to over 25percent in countries like South Africa and India. By opening GDIS to all citizens with surplus capital, Ghana can dramatically expand its domestic savings pool, channelling funds into strategic sectors—agro-industrial zones, renewable energy, and education infrastructure. GDIS is more than a financial instrument—it is a covenant of contribution. It redefines patriotism as investment and transforms the citizen from spectator to architect. The Black Star shines not because it is polished by foreign hands, but because it is forged in the fire of domestic resolve.

Ghana Diaspora Bond – A bridge of belonging and investment

Across oceans and continents, the Ghanaian spirit endures. Our diaspora—numbering in the millions—sends home over US$4 billion annually in remittances. These funds sustain families, build homes, and support education. Yet they remain largely informal, fragmented, and under-leveraged for national development. It is time to transform remittance into renaissance. The Ghana Diaspora Bond invites Ghanaians abroad to invest directly in the republic’s future. It is not charity. It is not nostalgia. It is a structured, sovereign-backed opportunity to build the homeland with pride and purpose.

• Tenure – Bonds ranging from 10 to 20 years, with reinvestment or rollover options.
• Use of Funds – Infrastructure, education, renewable energy, and agro-industrial zones—clearly tracked and transparently reported.
• Returns – Competitive annual yields, benchmarked against global standards, with tax exemptions in Ghana and potential treaty benefits abroad.
• Trust – Backed by the Government of Ghana, managed with the Bank of Ghana, and supported by a transparency portal for project monitoring.
• Engagement – A Diaspora Engagement Board will advise on bond design, outreach, and accountability.

The Diaspora Bond will convert remittances into structured development finance and foster transnational patriotism. It affirms that distance does not dilute duty, and that identity is not measured by proximity but by participation. The Black Star shines not only in Accra or Kumasi—but in Amsterdam, Atlanta, London, and Lagos—wherever Ghanaian hearts beat with hope.

Estimated scale of impact

Together, the Ghana Development Insurance Scheme (GDIS) and the Ghana Diaspora Bond have the potential to transform Ghana’s financial sovereignty. If every citizen—whether salaried or investing surplus savings—participates in GDIS, annual contributions could mobilize nearly GH¢36.7 billion, compounding to over GH¢2–3.6 trillion in future value over 25 years depending on yields of 6–10percent. In parallel, a structured Diaspora Bond capturing just GH¢1 billion annually from remittances could generate between GH¢55–98 billion (US$4.6–8.2 billion) over the same horizon.

Combined, these instruments would channel domestic and diaspora capital into infrastructure, agro-industrial zones, renewable energy, and education—raising Ghana’s savings rate, deepening capital markets, and proving that the Black Star can finance its own light. This scale of impact is not abstract; it is measurable, achievable, and within reach if citizens at home and abroad embrace patriotism as investment.

Conclusion – The Black Star must finance its own light

Ghana does not lack wealth. We lack the will to believe that our own hands can build the future we deserve. For too long, we have looked outward for what lies dormant within—capital, confidence, and conviction. But the tide is turning. The Ghana Development Insurance Scheme and the Ghana Diaspora Bond are not just financial instruments; they are declarations of intent. They say to the world, and more importantly to ourselves: we are ready to fund our own transformation.

These instruments will do more than raise money. They will raise morale. They will cultivate a culture of savings, deepen our capital markets, and awaken a new civic consciousness. They will remind every Ghanaian—whether in Tamale or Toronto, Kumasi or Cologne, whether earning a salary or investing surplus savings—that nation-building is not the work of governments alone. It is the sacred duty of a people who believe in their own capacity.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah once thundered that “the Black man is capable of managing his own affairs.” That was not a slogan. It was a prophecy. A challenge. A truth waiting to be proven by action. Today, we answer that call—not with slogans, but with systems. Not with borrowed dreams, but with homegrown designs. Let us rise, then, not with empty hands, but with full hearts and firm resolve. Let us build a Ghana where the Black Star is not a borrowed symbol, but a blazing beacon of self-reliance, unity, and hope. Let us be the generation that turned the page—from dependency to destiny. The time is now. The tools are within reach. The future is ours to finance.

 

 

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