Omanghana
The Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has issued a strong national economic appeal, urging Ghana to declare the next ten years as a “Decade of Business Development” aimed at reshaping the country’s economic foundations through enterprise, production, and private sector growth.
The Asantehene made the call while speaking at the Ghana Business Leaders’ Conclave 2026, hosted by the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), where he challenged both political and business leaders to move beyond rhetoric and implement sustained structural reforms that support long-term economic transformation.
He stressed that nearly seven decades after independence, Ghana’s development trajectory has been slowed by repeated cycles of political promises, policy inconsistency, and underinvestment in productive enterprise.
The Asantehene outlined a sweeping framework for national reform, urging a shift across four key areas of economic thinking:
Ghana must move from rhetoric to reality by prioritizing the creation and scaling of viable businesses rather than relying on political messaging.
He further called for a transition from slogans to production, emphasizing the need to build a manufacturing-driven economy capable of processing and exporting value-added goods.
The monarch also urged a shift from lamentation to enterprise, encouraging a national mindset that embraces innovation, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship rather than dependency on external support.
Finally, he advocated moving from dependency to value creation, highlighting the importance of processing Ghana’s abundant natural resources locally instead of exporting them in raw form.
The Asantehene proposed a structured national compact in which each sector plays a defined role in driving economic growth.
He called on political and state leaders to provide stable macroeconomic conditions, predictable regulatory systems, strong security, and targeted tax incentives that encourage investment and industrial expansion.
Entrepreneurs and professionals, he said, must lead with integrity, scale innovative enterprises, and create sustainable employment opportunities across sectors.
Academic institutions, meanwhile, were urged to equip young people with technical skills, creativity, and leadership capacity to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global economy.
Speaking under the theme “Leading with Integrity: Negotiation, Mediation and Ethical Governance for Business Sustainability,” the Asantehene issued a firm warning that economic progress cannot be separated from ethical conduct.
He noted that while unethical leadership may deliver short-term financial gains, it ultimately undermines institutional trust and long-term sustainability.
Referencing global economic transformations, he cited countries such as the United States, China, India, Singapore, and Vietnam, emphasizing that their economic rise was driven by sustained investment in enterprise development, technological advancement, and institutional trust rather than political rhetoric alone.
The address has been widely interpreted as a call for long-term economic discipline and a reset of national priorities toward production, industrialization, and private sector empowerment.
Observers say the proposed “Decade of Business Development” framework, if adopted, could serve as a guiding policy orientation for aligning government strategy, private sector investment, and educational reform toward a unified national development agenda.
Source: Omanghana
