An Examination of the Sustainability of the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Foreign aid constitutes an important source of developmental funding for many African states including Ghana. In 2018, the government of Ghana announced an intention to pursue an Agenda to build ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ through the prudent management of the countries resources. This work seeks to look at the sustainability of the “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda by examining the interpretations and purpose of “Ghana Beyond Aid”, elite consensus on pursuing a “Ghana Beyond Aid” and the challenges and prospects of the agenda. The study employed the qualitative research methodology and relied on both primary and secondary data for the analysis. Primary data were sourced from the Ghana Beyond Aid Secretariat, Parliament, Civil society, Development partners, Academia, NDPC and Political parties via interviews. The study found that, “Ghana Beyond Aid”, is subject to so many interpretations which all reflect a decreasing relevance of aid relative to its contribution to development in a changing context of development cooperation. However, two broad interpretations have been derived: the literally concept, implying a complete cut or rejection of aid and the purposive concept, referring to the vision for Ghana to attain economic self-sufficiency and wean itself from aid dependency. Also, the study revealed an underlying consensus on the need for Ghana to strive for self-sufficiency in line with the purposive concept of ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’. It was however found that, forging a bi-partisan consensus on the implementation of the agenda across governments is difficult to reach due to the dangerously competitive nature of the country’s political template. ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’, the study showed, presents Ghana with the opportunity to make the most out of its resources to get out of aid dependency. It also calls for a commitment to increased domestic resource mobilization, accountable leadership, a fight against corruption and wastage.