Ghana beyond Aid: Calling on the Diaspora

According to the World Bank and IMF data, money transfers to Ghana from its diaspora are around $4.9bn, a figure three times that of multi-donors’ aid support. The senders not only bear responsibility for sustaining the health and welfare of their families, but frequently help to sustain businesses and communities. However, despite reducing the government’s social protection costs, their voices often carry little or no influence.

In addition, British ‘aid’ (excluding humanitarian and emergency) tends to be re-cycled back to Britain, through aid-funded businesses – resulting in a rate of return of 22% in 2014, for example, and the creation of 12,000 jobs. Although this is good news for Britain, in Ghana it does little to tackle cripplingly high youth unemployment and development challenges, both key factors in emigration.

Although to its credit the newly elected government of Ghana is taking steps to build both deeper relationships with its citizens in Britain – through the appointment of a Diaspora Office and the Diaspora Homecoming Summit – and sustainable remittances, a new Policy Brief from Freda Owusu and Nicola Yeates argues that more is needed.

Based on interviews with the senders of remittances, Ghana beyond Aid: Calling on the Diaspora sets out to support the government by highlighting the ways in which listening to senders can help avoid the risk of overplaying remittance flows as an unlimited and secure form of development finance. In conclusion, it reccommends that the country:

• refuse ‘tied’ foreign aid, except in emergencies

• declare its diaspora the 11th region of Ghana, with full democratic representation

• promote agreed tax allowances for senders

• negotiate regulatory space for Ghanaians with the British government (as India does)

• sign up to UHC2030 – in letter and in spirit.  

Read Ghana beyond Aid: Calling on the Diaspora in full.