Kufuor’s Guest Prescribes Rule Of Law

Horst Kohler is a former President of IMF and Germany.

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday September 22, 2011.
FORMER GERMAN President Horst Kohler who was the guest speaker at the launch of President John Agyekum Kufuor’s foundation at the University of Ghana prescribed for developing economies four thematic approaches that could bring socio-economic breakthrough.

He said rule of law, equitable distribution of wealth, transition to a new society and being part of a globalized world rather than against it country propel any country into a developed one.

Delivering a lecture themed: “Walking the tightrope: Balancing state, market and society”, President Kohler who was once the MD of International Monetary Fund (IMF) saidif Ghana or any country should adopt the social market economy system then the rule of law should reign supreme.

“Your own people as well as foreign investors and customers will only plan and engage themselves and their talent and capital long term if they trust in the laws of the land and the enforcement of their observation.”

He said “no enduring prosperity without the rule of law and a fine civil service or to say it with another familiar expression, good governance is crucial to reap the fruit of economic progress.”

Sharing his experience on how Germany was able to distribute wealth equitably under the social market economy system, President Kohler said “Africa has a huge potential thanks to its natural resources. The demand for them has increased significantly over the last years. Old and new players like China are trying to secure them for their economic development and some even talk about a new scramble for Africa.”

He said this international demand can provide a great source of economic prosperity for Africa, but the crucial task would be to ensure that this fortune will benefit all the people.

“In history, too often abundant natural resources did not become a blessing but rather a curse. The reason for this was very often corrupt leaderships which led the money rather into the private pockets of a few instead into investments for all.”

President Kohler said the industrializedcountries cannot also deny responsibilityof the state of affairs of most of the developing countries saying “they seized the profits from unequal contracts and were too often involved in corruption as well.”

“A country like Norway has proven that natural resources can become a blessing. I think that Ghana can be an Africansuccess story by rather going the way of Norway than that of Nigeria.”

He said transition to a modern, successful social market economy means nothing less than the transition to a new society saying “to keep such a newly developing society together is a political challenge of the utmost importance and difficulty.”

“All mattersconcerning the reward for achievement, the openness for talent and the distribution of economic success and growing wealth deserve the keenest political attention. The temptation to hit and run- to make money and free the country- must be ruled out.”

President Kohler said all success-stories are written within globalization and not against it saying “that does not mean that there is only one way of achievement. On the contrary, each nation should make its own way, just as each should find its own balance of social market economy-principles and policies.”

“Africa still has much of the Garden Eden in which all people of good faith like to believe. To preserve Africa’s natural beauty and richness by internalizing all cost to it caused by economic development will be a huge long term investment for the African people as well as for all mankind. And it will pay off best in my view when it is done in accordance with principles of a social market economy.”

He said whatever decisions Ghana takes regarding the economicand social developmentshould be based on “your own roots and ideas,” adding that the high expectation of oil revenues and the diligence of the people is making Ghana take what he called “a remarkable step towards sound economic development.”

The German President praised President Kufuor for his exemplary leadership saying “although it has been now for more than two years that you are out of office we know that a lot of the progress which Ghana is making today still goes back to the wise decisions under your leadership.”