Kwame Pianim calls for policies to slow Ghana’s population growth

Mr Kwame Pianim, a renowned economist has called for measures to curb Ghana’s rapid population growth to make it correspond with economic growth and development.

He called for a national conversation to mainstream population aspects into national development with a more robust population focused approach to the nation’s socioeconomic development.

Mr Pianim made the call in his keynote address at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Annual Leadership Lecture Series 2023 in Accra, on the theme “Re-Imagining Ghana’s Development Trajectory for a Peaceful and Prosperous Nation By 2057, Our 100th Anniversary.”

He said Ghanaians’ re-imagined trajectory was to yield prosperity that was inclusive and shared through the participation of the people in the production process; saying “and peaceful because no one is left behind.”

He said Ghanaians envision a steady and prudent annual growth rate of between five per cent and six per cent to attain a minimum gross domestic product (GDP) of $500 billion with a modulated population of 45 million by 2057.

Mr Pianim noted that this was feasible and could be willed into reality with leadership at all levels in Ghanaian communities, institutions, and homes.

“Only Ghanaians can and do have a duty to develop their nation. We are in unprecedented social and economic crises. To get out of this self-inflicted bind, all of us 34 million Ghanaians must pitch in to envision and create a new Ghana. A new growth path is needed.”

Comparing Ghana to the Asians Tigers, Mr Pianim said: “We often nostalgically say, either to shame ourselves into action or to lull ourselves into resignation and acceptance of our poor circumstances, that at the time of independence around 1957, Ghana’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was higher than that of South Korea and that of China and slightly lower than that of Malaysia.”

“From around the same level of gross GDP per capita of some $200, by 2022, South Korea had catapulted to $33,000, China to $11,000 and Malaysia to $5,000; Ghana dawdles at around $2,000!

“Our population at 6.6million in 1960, increased over the past 62 years to 33.48 million, a rise of 407 per cent.

“The population of South Korea over the same period, rose from 25 m to 51.63 m, an increase of 106 per cent. The world average was 162 per cent.”

He said Ghana and South Korea were not too far apart in annual population rate of growth; around 3.27 per cent for Ghana and 3.01 per cent for South Korea in 1960s.

Adding that South Korea managed to bring down its annual growth rate to under one per cent with its “two-is-enough” slogan.

Mr Pianim said Ghana’s current high fertility rate and declining mortality, had kept its annual growth rate at around 2.1 per cent.

He said on this path, Ghana was projected to be 69.2 million by 2057!
“It may be worth noting that no nation has developed with an annual population growth rate of two per cent and above. To change our current development trajectory, we need to lower our annual rate of population growth from 2.1 per cent and our women cannot continue to average six children.

He said South Korea had been so successful in managing the population/development equation since the 1970s it now faces population decline; adding that it had been recording negative annual changes in the third decade of the 21st Century.

He said child marriage had been made illegal by legislation in Ghana and that there was the need for a reinvigorated district assemblies and traditional authorities to collaborate in implementing the law.

He reiterated that it was critical to put measures in place to help in lowering the growth rate to 1.1 per cent up to 2034 and to 0.7 per cent up to 2057.

“It modulated population in 2057 to 44.8million! This is how the population drag was toned down. It makes our GDP per capita level attainable to over $10,000 by 2057,” Mr Pianim stated.

He underscored the need to study the inter-sect issues of population and sustainable development, which led to the National Development Planning Commission being set up.

He called for the merger of the National Population Council, the Births and Deaths Registry and National Identification Authority with operational presence in all districts.

Professor Abednefo Feehi Okoe Amartey, the Vice Chancellor of the UPSA, said the UPSA Annual Leadership Lecture Series had been a very impactful platform with positive lessons and insights that had been relayed for total reflections.