Dr George Dery, a lecturer at the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), has said the problems that confront the development of Ghana are due to a lack of consistent and effective leadership.
He said the country has been blessed with lots of natural resources and potentials which could catapult the nation into a state of financial freedom and economic liberation if there was consistent and effective leadership.
Dr. Dery said this during the opening ceremony of the annual Igniting Dreams summit, a youth entrepreneurship and leadership innovation program organized by the Coalition for Positive Impact (CPI), in Wa over the weekend.
"As a country, we have not been privileged to have consistent and effective leadership as exemplified by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah who offered free education to children in the North, established a vibrant manufacturing centre to grow businesses and offered employment to the youth.
"Unfortunately, we have not been privileged to have that consistent leadership display after Nkrumah; it has been 'zigzag' and that contributed to our woes and for that matter the challenges of the youth, especially in Northern Ghana," he said as he lamented.
Dr. Dery called on the government to display quality leadership in dealing with their developmental challenges to forestall any future uprising as witnessed in the Arab Spring.
He said there was a close nexus between innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership which are very critical for the overall development of youth and by extension, national development.
Mr. Maazu Bayuoni, the Founder and President of the CPI, observed that there was no enabling environment for young people and young entrepreneurs to thrive in Ghana.
"Registering a business in Ghana could take a huge toll on entrepreneurs; we are currently looking to have our nonprofit certificate and that is taking more than six months. In places like Rwanda, this could take even only two days," he lamented.
He commended the government for initiating programs to support young entrepreneurs but called for merit-based access to those opportunities devoid of partisan affiliations.
"This is the message I have for government: let's support young entrepreneurs and young people devoid of party affiliations; people shouldn't have to pay to get job opportunities, people shouldn't have to pay to access business support opportunities," he urged.
The 3-day summit was on the theme, "Developing Northern Ghana through Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership" and was supported by Sangu Delle Foundation, Rabito Clinic, Noni Hub, DLight Space, Girls Education Initiative Ghana, expressPay, mNotify, Antika Company, and Steward Reigns Photography.