Counting The Cost – Have you counted the cost to build Ghana?

“For which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost whether he have sufficient to finish it” Luke 14:28

This statement our Saviour made should inspire our political leaders to estimate how much it would cost to build up Ghana so the nation would obtain a very bright future.

The five star hotels we may need in Ghana, the very large conference buildings we may need, the aircraft and automobile assembly plants we may need come with a cost. But we would have to note them down.

According to Former US President Donald Trump his recent Texas rally brought together “87,000 people with 50, 000 being sent away” in a Telegram message.

This figure goes a long way to show that there is the dire need for our political leaders to as far as Ghana’s future is concerned plan to build conference or converging facilities and buildings that could accommodate very large crowds. This alone would fetch Ghana foreign exchange when international conferences for large numbers of people are held in Ghana. To date most international conferences for huge figures of people are not held in Ghana. To accomplish these would come at a cost. And the costs should be established and penned down.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is estimated to a total cost of 1 billion UK Pounds Sterling. It could accommodate 62, 850 people.( Credit: Google) This is a brilliant example.

We know that to build here in Ghana is so much costlier. Here in Ghana Reverend Anthony Kwadwo Boakye the founder and General Overseer of Resurrection Power New Generation Church Kasoa is planning to build a very large church facility that could accommodate about a 100,000 people (in a quite recent announcement to his church congregation).

This implies that he would definitely need about 60 billion dollars if he has in mind building a luxurious building. A gigantic facility of such sort would have to come with an air- conditioned hangar to keep an aircraft or a few ones there, a parking lot for several church buses, a lodging apartments that could cater for 75, 000 to 85, 000 people, a children’s temple, etc.

We keep talking that Ghana ‘s Police Service, Fire Service (as well as Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority) would need modern gadgetry like helicopters. A private jet would cost about 2 million to 500 million US dollars (Credit : Google). This goes a long way to suggest that Ghana needs far more than the 2 billion US dollar loan we have taken from Beijing, China “to finance rail, road and bridge networks for which China would be granted access to 5 percent of Ghana’s bauxite reserves”
We would be better off if we receive such huge sums without having to pay anything back.

The Trump International Hotel in Washington DC has been sold in a 375 million US dollar deal and would be transformed into a Waldorf Astonia luxury hotel (Credit : The Independent UK newspaper)

This shows that to make Ghana a hub for luxury, comfort and relaxation we should be looking at building similar infrastructure facilities here.Implying we should at investing similar amounts of money here in Ghana.

With such facilities in some of our villages here it would demystify the superstitious belief that it would take so many years for our villages to get well developed. This would serve as a gainful means of employment too for Ghanaian youths.

The key to Ghana’s breakthrough would not come through borrowing. It would largely depend on seeking for sponsoring and philanthropy from Ghanaians in the diaspora as well as getting support from the orthodox and protestant churches who once sent missionaries to our country’s soil. But this time, our country would succeed well if we focus on such religious bodies in the United States. The First Methodist churches, United Methodist churches, Presbyterian churches, Assembly of God churches, Foursquare Gospel chuches, Lutheran churches, Baptist Churches, amongst others in America.

Most Americans are not bilingual and they cannot understand the way we speak the English language. Our political leaders could negotiate with their churches and solicit support from these churches so they donate to build projects or donate to the worthy cause of making Ghana better and in turn open doors for US nationals to come a pursue academic programmes in Ghana in their large numbers and to come for tourism and relaxation here.

A relief support to Ghana could help mitigate the poverty in Ghana by creating meaningful jobs that would pay employees well, so they could cater for themselves, their families, and their other dependants better.

The transportation fare hikes in Ghana is frightening with the upcoming years and it would take about 50 gh cedis to about 100 gh cedis as the minimal amount to survive or cater for oneself in Ghana daily. Most Ghanaians spend about 1000 gh cedis daily. This is because assuming you have two dependents on whom you spend 250 gh cedis each daily this amounts to 500 gh cedis. And if you should also spend 500 gh cedis on yourself in addition it totals to 1000 gh cedis for your daily expenses.

The real situation on the ground portray these daily individual expenditure figures and the earlier Ghana’s political leaders adhere to good admonishment to find the right solutions to the problem the better it would be for the future of the nation.

In the same Gospel book of Luke in the Bible, the Prodigal Son’s plight worsened because “ and no man gave unto him” Luke 15:16

This shows that more often that not it would take a financial support of some sort that is a bit free in nature from another country to make a particular country a huge success and to turn around its misfortunes. And hence we need each other’s support.

By Ebenezer K N Baiden-Amissah

Legon Accra Ghana