Economic complexity and what you need to know about the Challenge – and Secret – to Economic Growth in Ghana

Disclaimer: This is a major benefit of having your own corner. I wrote the below piece in 2019. After some feedback, I shelved it. Why? Because some of the ideas “seemed too complex.” Funny that I am talking about economic complexity. But maybe it is. The idea of economic complexity Read More

The Surprisingly Simple Truth behind end-of-service benefits (ex gratia) for MPs in Ghana

You heard the news about the end-of-service (ex gratia) payments to MPs and you thought one of three things: “Oh, what insanity! ‘End-of-service’ gift for what exactly?” “Wow, I should really consider going into local politics. That’s some money right there! Imagine if I held on for four terms like Read More

Why do governments recycle Ministers?

I know I cannot be the only one who has wondered why governments recycle Ministers, especially on our side of the world. How did the Minister of Defence become Minister of Trade & Industry? And why is it the same group of people shuffled around every eight years? In the Read More

Keep the Receipts and be open about it

I recently came across a few articles talking about corruption and the siphoning off of funds meant for Covid-19 support, and I was mad.   For me, that’s just foul. In a post written by Mushtaq Khan and Pallavi Roy, I  read in shock about instances of “padding in procurement contracts, leakages in distribution, Read More

3 Leadership Lessons from Business and What They Mean For Us in International Development

Part I – Lessons from The Hard things About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz “Sometimes an organization doesn’t need a solution; it just needs clarity.”― Ben Horowitz, The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers Ben Read More

AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THINGS BETTER: GHANA’S TOUGH CHOICES AFTER THE VIRUS

This post is an excerpt from a bigger piece I wrote reflecting on COVID-19 and the tough choices Ghana will need to make in addressing the virus.  Such is why I started this blog. Read the full post here. Ghana’s President, like South Africa’s, has, over the past couple of weeks received no Read More