How Ghana can build an economy that produces more with her abundant resources

In September 2026, it took me more than twelve hours to travel the 266 kilometres from Nkroful to Kumasi through the important mining towns of Tarkwa, Bogosu, Dunkwa-on-Offin, Ayanfuri and Obuasi. In 2025, I compared Accra–Kumasi trips of at least six hours with a three-hour journey from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro over a similar distance. These were individual journeys, but they raise a question for every producer who depends on a road. How much of a working day can you afford to lose getting goods to market? The World Bank reported that Ghana’s economy grew by 6 per cent in 2025, yet only 13 per cent of workers aged 15 to 64 held formal wage or high-skilled jobs in 2023, down from 15 per cent in 2012. Better infrastructure can help farms and firms turn growth into more productive jobs. Roads and electricity networks show why public ownership matters to productivity and welfare. They serve households and businesses across whole regions, including places where the commercial return alone may be too low to justify investment. Government must define what the public should receive from these assets, fund those obligations openly and give Parliament and citizens the information they need to hold operators to account.