PAG Marks Nkrumah’s 117th Birthday, Calls For Shift From Raw Extraction To Value Addition

The Progressive Alliance for Ghana (PAG) has commemorated the 117th birth anniversary of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, with a call for Ghana to return to his core vision of economic self-reliance and industrial transformation.

In a press statement issued by its Flagbearer, Apostle Dr. John Enyonam Kpikpi, the party said remembering Nkrumah must go beyond ceremonies and speeches.

“For PAG, remembering Nkrumah must go beyond ceremonies and speeches. It must challenge us to ask a fundamental question: What kind of Ghana are we preparing for the next generation?” the statement said.

According to PAG, Nkrumah understood that political independence would have limited meaning without economic independence – a vision of a Ghana that could develop its productive capacity, educate its people, industrialize its economy and use its natural resources to improve citizens’ lives.

The statement outlined five key pillars PAG believes should define Ghana’s next phase of development in honour of Nkrumah’s unfinished task:

1. Preparing Youth for the World of Work:
PAG argues Ghana’s education system must move beyond preparing youth to seek scarce formal employment. It calls for a shift towards technical and vocational education, digital skills, entrepreneurship, apprenticeships and the green-energy economy.

“A young Ghanaian should graduate not only asking, ‘Where can I find a job?’ but also asking, ‘What can I produce, what problem can I solve, and what enterprise can I build?'” Dr. Kpikpi stated.

2. Cooperatives as Vehicle for Economic Ownership:
The party is proposing strong cooperative structures for farmers, small-scale miners, artisans and young entrepreneurs to improve bargaining power, access to finance, technology and markets.

“In agriculture, cooperative models can help farmers aggregate production… In the mining sector, responsible cooperative structures can also help formalise local participation,” the statement noted.

3. From Extraction to Value Addition:
PAG challenged the current model of raw material exports. It said gold, bauxite, manganese, lithium, oil and gas must become instruments for industrial transformation.

“If we mine lithium, we must think beyond exporting ore. If we produce gold, we must strengthen our refining and downstream industries… The question must no longer be only how much Ghana can extract, but how much value Ghana can create,” the Flagbearer said.

4. Energy for Industrial Transformation:
The party stressed that no industrial transformation can occur without reliable, affordable and sustainable energy to support manufacturing, agriculture and small businesses, while expanding renewable energy for future security.

5. Building for Generations:
Dr. Kpikpi said the greatest tribute to Nkrumah is to confront the unfinished questions he left: Can Ghana produce more than it imports? Can young people become owners of productive enterprises? Can natural resources finance industrial development?

“As the Progressive Alliance for Ghana, we believe that economic self-reliance, human-capital development, cooperative ownership, responsible resource management, industrialisation and energy security must form part of the foundation of Ghana’s next phase of development,” he said.

“Nkrumah’s dream must not remain a memory. It must become a continuing national project,” the statement concluded.

Long live Ghana. Long live African unity.