Recently, I drove from Accra to Elmina. I took my camera and a 300mm lens with me. My plan was to capture portraits of Ghanaian traders who carried their wares atop their heads.
There was no shortage of them. We set off from East Legon. By the time we hit Weija, I had over 20 headshots already. Had it not been for the rain, I could easily have filled my 8 gb card with images by the time we got to Kasoa (I shoot in RAW).
A large section of the Ghanaian economy is carried around on the heads of traders, keeping it mobile and accessible to many.
Another observation is how many Ghanaians are involved in trading. That sector alone must employ close to 60% of all able-bodied Ghanaians. There is also a great number of children who work as traders.
The whole of this trading economy seems to be situated along our roads. Traveling through the country enables one to sense the level of economic activity in the country.
With the large number of Ghanaians stuck trading, are the other sectors of the economy neglected? Are too many people chasing just a small section of the pie?
Isn’t it the case then that foreigners who emigrate to our country, like the Chinese, Indians and Arabs find all the other sectors untapped and are able to exploit them unhindered?
Why is trading the main economic activity in our land?
Can it be due to how expensive credit is in Ghana? With high interest rates and short lending times, any one who borrows money in Ghana is under pressure to turn the principal over as quickly as possible in order to be able to make payments to the lender. No other sector allows this as much trading. Foreign businessmen often have access to cheaper loans with longer lending times. They are thus able to invest in other sectors of the economy where time is kinder.
Can this also be due to an inherent Ghanaian inability to delay gratification? We know what we want and we want it now. There is no patience for the long-term. It is even seen in how we drive. Trading is the sector that corresponds more to this impatience.
Then is an educational system that honors “What you know” more than “What you can do”. This onus on “What you know” breeds a populace that does not make things. Those sectors that cater to those who make things is starved.
Instead we all trade with a distinctive portion carrying their wares atop their heads in a bid to get them everywhere – our own version of mobile trading.
The head contains the brain, the most important organ in the human body. Harnessing it allows one to do the most with life. Not harnessing it dooms one to a life stuck in just a small section of what is possible in this life, like the Ghanaian economy. It is almost metaphorical.
Is it any wonder an educator once claimed that “the head is used for carrying”?
This inability to “make things” that feed our needs is a glaring sign of a lack of creativity. An almost pathologic inability to innovate. This brings me to a story the great Warren Buffet once told.
Warren Buffet did an interview in 2008 in the aftermath of the financial crash with Charlie Rose of PBS.
Rose asked him, why in spite of so many seemingly smart people, the crash occurred.
Buffet attributed it to the 3 “I”s.
The Initiators, Imitators and Idiots.
A business cycle or idea is started by the Initiators.
The Imitators see a chance to make money and jump on board.
Lastly come the Idiots who never bother to really learn the ropes well and end up messing everything up.
So let’s take Ghana into consideration. The nation abounds with Imitators and Idiots. Where are the Initiators? Without them, we’ll forever go round in circles.
So maybe one day, we’ll set that load of merchandise down and instead use what in in that head to think up ways to diversify Ghana’s economy into other sectors.
Until then, we’ll carry our economy around.