BRIDGING GHANA’S YAWNING PRODUCTIVITY
GAP
A PRESENTATION AT BARCAMPTEMA- 2015
BY ING. NORBERT AMBENNE30TH MAY, 2015
Introduction Ghanaians are busy acquiring knowledge
and to a lesser extent, skill. We have good Engineers, Lawyers,
Doctors, Accountants, Architects etc. but success continues to elude us. WHY?
There is a missing link. If we do not tackle this missing link
urgently we should not expect a “A Better Ghana” soon.
One of our objectives today is to raise awareness of this missing link.
Productivity We in Ghana have one of the lowest labor
productivities in the world. It might be different when Ghanaians are outside
Ghana but in Ghana we simply don’t like to work. We have to tackle this problem seriously because it
is the bane of our development. We cannot expect a better Ghana anytime soon without a radical change in our attitude to work.
To illustrate the seriousness of our productivity problems below is a productivity comparison between us and 2 of our contemporaries at independence - Malaysia & S. Korea.
Productivity Comparisons
GDP PER CAPITA COMPARISON (US$/PERSON)
COUNTRY GDP PER CAPITA ($)
1970 1990 2013
GHANA 459 618 3,974
MALAYSIA 412 2,432 23,298
SOUTH KOREA 285 6,308 33,140
Productivity Comparisons In 1970 we were ahead of both Malaysia and South Korea.
Korea’s productivity was only about half of Ghana’s.
In 1990 Malaysia & South Korea’s productivity had increased 6 and 22 times respectively. Ghana’s had not even gone up by 0.5 times.
By 2013 the GDP numbers of both countries were so large they were now developed countries. Ghana is languishing at lower middle income status.
Situation calls for a lot of soul searching as to where we went wrong.
Under Nkrumah we started well but faltered along the way. Why?
Today we shall attempt to answer the question ‘Why?’ by quoting an email I received about 12 years ago.
Difference Between the 1st and 3rd World.
The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country.
- This can be shown by countries like India and Egypt that are more than 2000 years old and are poor.
- On the other hand, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, that only 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries and are rich.
Difference Between the 1st and 3rd World.
The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources.
- Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture and cattle raising, but it was the second world economy until recently. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw material from the whole world and exporting manufactured products.
- Another example is Switzerland, which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate of the world. In its little territory they raise animals and plant the soil during 4 months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality. It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order and labor, which made it the world strong safe.
Difference Between the 1st and 3rd World.
Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference.
Race and color are also not important:
- immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.
What is the difference then?The difference is in the attitude of the people, framed along the years by the education and culture.
Difference Between the 1st and 3rd World.On analyzing the behavior of the people in rich and developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the following principles in their lives:
1. ETHICS.
2. INTEGRITY.
3. RESPONSIBILITY.
4. RESPECT FOR THE LAWS AND RULES.
5. RESPECT FOR THE RIGHTS OF OTHER CITIZENS.
6. WORK LOVING.
7. STRIVE FOR SAVING AND INVESTMENT.
8. WILL OF SUPER ACTION.
9. PUNCTUALITY.
Difference Between the 1st and 3rd World.
In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life.
We are not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel to us.
We are poor because we lack attitude. We lack the will to comply with and teach these
functional principles of the rich and developed societies.
If you love your country let this message circulate for a major quantity of people could reflect about this and CHANGE. ACT!! (Unquote).
Lack of the right attitude is our missing link. Attitude has nothing to do with education level (e.g. Incident at KNUST Alumni congress). The professor behaves the same way as the illiterate.
Work Loving ‘Work Loving’ is a Basic Life Principle
But Ghanaians do not like hard work.
The Ghanaian idea of a good job is to wear a tie and sit in some air-conditioned office pushing paper.
The fact that the service sector is the largest contributor to GDP bears testimony. That is where the white collar jobs are: Banks, Hotels, The Media, Restaurants, Mobile Communication Services, IT, Retail Trade etc.
In agric and industry the dress code is overalls and the work environment hot & dirty. Ghanaians hate that.
But real development requires strong Agric & Industry.
SSSS & Cedi Collapse
In 2013 we did no meaningful work because we were busy arguing about who won the elections.
Meanwhile we demanded and got a huge increase in pay thru the SSSS.
We obtained a big share of a pie we did not make.
Consequently the cedi collapsed because we had no reserves to support that expenditure.
Our purchasing power is back to square one.
It appears we do not appreciate the simple fundamentals of economics: There is no avoiding hard work if we want real prosperity.
Work LovingIn order to support an affluent lifestyle without hard work we disobey the other basic life principles:
Ethics and Integrity go out the window as we indulge in CORRUPTION, FRAUD and THEFT.
We indulge in Irresponsible and Undisciplined behavior in and out of our workplaces.
We have a Poor Savings & Investment Culture because if you do not sweat to earn the money you are not motivated to save it.
Will of Super Action is absent because it involves hard work and dedication.
Punctuality is absent because it involves discipline.
Refuge in Education
It is now the fashion to acquire as many qualifications as possible no matter the subject.
Idea is to sit in some air-conditioned office and be paid well without hard work.
Unfortunately white collars jobs are limited and we now have an unemployed graduates association.
We do not understand that knowledge contributes the least to an Individual’s Success Factors.
Individual Success FactorsThe 3 most important factors that determine an individual’s success in life are: Knowledge, Skill & Attitude.
The relative contribution of each of these to the success ladder is as follows: Knowledge - 15% Skill – 25% Attitude – 60%
It can be seen that Attitude is by far the most important contributor to an individual’s hence the nation’s success.
Individual Success Factors
KnowledgeAcquired through regular education.
Skill Acquired through practice & honing of the knowledge obtained.
AttitudeAttitude reflects an individual’s perception of life. It determines how an individual approaches life’s opportunities and pitfalls.
Attitude Attitude is measured by how well you comply with
the Basic Life Principles. Attitude contributes 60% of the individual’s
success factors and therefore even without knowledge and skill, with a good attitude you have a high chance of success in life.
With only knowledge and skill your chances of success are only 40%.
Is it surprising then that with all the letters behind our names success is eluding us?
Those letters contribute only15% to our success.
Attitude Examples
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs.
Mr. Ocran of Mankoadze Fisheries.
My own experience.
Preparation of 2014 Budget Statement
In July 2013 sent ff: articles to MOF as contribution to preparation of 2014-16 budget statement.
- Generating Income for the Country.
- Ghana’s Broken Education System - Ghana’s Broken Industrial Sector - Ghana’s Broken Agricultural Sector
Was invited to the Stakeholders Forum on 2/10/13.
Problems with our Education System
4 Major Problems with our education System:
ACCESS QUALITY AND CONTENT RELEVENCE TO NATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING
Problems With Our Education System
1. ACCESS Ghana spends more than a third of its annual budget
on education. A total of 2,300 schools still under trees across the
country Government said to be implementing a “one laptop per
child” policy. Misplaced priorities as children under trees in the rain
and shine with no power source cannot effectively operate laptops.
We must first direct resources to providing school buildings before such programs can be effective.
We cannot expect to successfully leapfrog technology without having the basics in place.
Problems With Our Education System
2. Quality And Content What Are We Teaching Our Children? Education is not merely not merely the assimilation of knowledge
in History, Literature, or Mathematics. Education must include the molding of the person’s character for
appropriate behavior in society. Doing so would minimize unacceptable character traits such as
Indiscipline, Dishonesty, Corruption, Laziness, Greed and Selfishness which now plague our society.
We can solve this problem by including the teaching of the 9 Basic Life Principles in the Curricula of all levels of our education system.
These principles are: Ethics, Integrity, Responsibility, Respect for Laws and Rules, Respect for the Rights of Other Citizens, Good Attitude to Work, Punctuality, Good Savings and Investment Culture, and Will of Super Action.
Problems With Our Education System
3. Relevance To The Country’s Manpower Needs
A good education system must produce the manpower needs of the country at any point in time.
Our current priority manpower needs are in the Application of Science & Technology.
The ability to execute our business plan of a better Ghana lies in our ability to apply modern science and technical expertise to development.
This was recognized during the Nkrumah regime and a lot of progress was made but we abandoned it with his overthrow. Now we have to rely on Chinese and other external sources for technical expertise.
To add insult to injury the curricula of the numerous Private Universities have excluded the teaching of Science & Technology. This must not be allowed to continue.
We must return to the emphasis on the teaching of Science and Technical subjects in our schools.
Enough skilled Ghanaians are needed to lead the development effort.
Problems With Our Education System
4. Entrepreneurs Not Being Produced
Colonial education system was meant to produce employees.
Today we are still producing employees to the neglect of Employers or Entrepreneurs.
Consequently no jobs are being created to absorb the teaming employees.
The system must be modified to increase focus on entrepreneurial training to solve the unemployment problem.
Problems With Our Education System
The results of these deficiencies in our education system are evident:
Undisciplined and unproductive population. Lack of skilled manpower to prosecute our
development plans. Inability to identify and take advantage of the
numerous opportunities available for wealth creation.
Over reliance on imported goods, services and technical knowhow.
Dealing With the Productivity ProblemImplement a combination of the ff:Productivity Based RemunerationProductivity Incentive ProgramsRegular Job Performance AppraisalsMaking Job Performance the Main Criterion
for Promotion.Do not Hesitate to Fire Poor Performers.
Productivity Based Remuneration
Ideal for production of goods. Determine labor cost component of each
product. Tally the units produced in the month
and multiply by labor cost component. Resultant amount is distributed as
remuneration to labor. A distribution formula is determined
based on the various categories of labor.
Productivity Incentive Programs
Applicable to Production of Goods & Services Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Determine minimum performance levels on
KPIs for regular remuneration offered. Determine levels of performance above
minimum that qualify for additional incremental incentive earnings.
Determine when and how incentive earnings can be declared and redeemed.
Performance AppraisalsDo the ff to maintain confidence in system and minimize abuse: Set measureable achievable goals at the beginning of the year. Conduct informal quarterly performance reviews. Conduct formal mid-year review of performance based on goals
set and other assignments given by superior. Conduct year-end review of performance and assign grades on
which employee’s pay rise is based. Appraisal to be conducted by at least 3 superiors of the
employee one of which is his direct supervisor to minimize incidence of victimization.
It is also useful to let employees informally appraise themselves before the boss does.
Offer employees an opportunity to appeal the appraisal if they feel it is unfair.
Compensation & Termination
Results of the annual appraisal should be the basis for pay increases and the determination of potentials for climbing the corporate ladder.
That should also be the basis for terminating the appointments of poor performing employees.
CONCLUSIONGhana’s low productivity and slow progress in all spheres of national life can be traced down to NEGATIGIVE ATTITUDE.
This is evident in our non-compliance with the 9 Basic Life Principles. We must begin to comply with and teach these principles at all levels of our education system to correct the problem.
Successfully tackling the productivity problem immediately should consider innovative methods including productivity based reward systems.
