Ghanaian Scientist and Engineer, Dr Bright Sogbey, has noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed capitalism as a bad system and shown that technocracy is best for a country’s economic development, particularly in trying times.
Dr Sogbey, who serves as President of the Science and Technology Advocacy Renaissance Foundation for Africa, believes a shift in focus from capitalism to socialism with scientists and engineers at the top hierarchy of the country’s politics will be best for Ghana.
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To drive home his point, Dr Sogbey cited China as an example of a country which had nearly 80 per cent of its top politicians as scientists and engineers.
China is reaping what it started sowing decades ago. In the 1990s, they decided that unless one is an engineer, one cannot be President of the country. Research shows that until recently, eight out of the nine top politicians in China, including even presidents, were scientists and even at the local government level, eight out of 10 political leaders are all technocrats with science and engineering background, he argued.
This decision, is what has positioned China to have a sharp focus on innovations to deal with very huge challenges like COVID-19, and Ghana must begin to consider the same strategy. And when we do so, it is then that we can overcome our troubles, he added.
Drawing lessons from capitalist countries like the United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK) which are currently struggling with COVID-19, Dr Sogbey posited that, industrialisation not led by the State is tantamount to hopelessness.
The reality has come, now USA, UK and other typical capitalist countries are helplessly acting as socialist countries despite being typical capitalist countries where money resides in the hands of private individuals and the State grabbles with what is accrued from taxation to bring the much needed social interventions to its people in such trying times, he noted.
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Dr Sogbey has advised the government to take advantage of the existing Legislative Instrument for Private Public Partnership and partially nationalise the economy, by regaining majority shares in lucrative industries such as the oil and gas, mining, telecommunication, hospitality and others.
For privately owned companies in the key sectors of the economy, government should have a 51/49 percentage shares arrangement, while for the sold State-Owned companies, there should be a 70/30 percentage shares arrangement, with the State owning the 70 per cent, he stated.