Bokpin Urges Strategic Approach to Ghana’s Proposed BRICS Membership
Prof Godfred Bokpin, Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School, has advised the government to be measured in its pursuit of Ghana’s proposed entry into BRICS, warning against presenting the move as a break from the country’s existing international relationships. He said the application should instead form part of a wider economic and foreign policy framework that enables Ghana to work with different centres of global economic influence while safeguarding its national interests. Speaking on the Joy FM Super Morning Show on Thursday, October 8, Prof Bokpin said the government must have a firm sense of what it hopes to secure from BRICS and how far it is prepared to go in pursuing those interests. “Joining BRICS necessarily should not be pursued as a substitution strategy for exiting other blocs or within other political leanings that we have,” he said. He added that Ghana should enter the process fully aware that its traditional partners would also be watching the country’s next steps.
Prof Bokpin said the value of BRICS membership would ultimately depend on Ghana’s ability to strengthen its own economy and equip local businesses to take advantage of wider markets. He pointed to the country’s experience with the African Continental Free Trade Area, noting that belonging to an economic bloc does not, by itself, guarantee that businesses will benefit from it. Ghanaian firms, he argued, must first become competitive at home before they can realistically compete beyond the country’s borders. He said the difficulty local producers face in matching imported goods, alongside higher inflation on locally produced items, should prompt a rethink of the conditions under which businesses operate. “To win outside Ghana, you first have to win within Ghana,” he said. Prof Bokpin acknowledged the government’s efforts to stabilise the economy but urged the Finance Minister to use the available fiscal space to tackle development challenges more decisively and at scale, while pursuing cooperation with a range of international partners.
