Saturday, October 15, 2011

Ghana: The World's Fastest Growing Economy in 2011


In an economic research by the Economy Watch led by Juan Abdel Nasser, Ghana is ranked the fastest economic growing country in the world. Looking at the data on the Economic Statistics database from the Economy Watch.com., with the data points from the IMF's tracker of GDP Growth in constant prices in the national currency (not converted to US dollars).

Even though many people assume that China is the fastest economic growing country in the world, but that is not the case, it is the fastest growing largest economy, but that is a different thing.

What matters here is the key trends that are driving the growth figures. Looking at the Economic Indicator list for the year 2011, it is surprising to see who is now leading the pack in terms of economic growth.

It is not one of the countries that is normally thought of in those terms but rather Ghana which is currently the World's fastest growing economy in the year 2011.

The statistics for 2011:
Economic Indicator Listing in Year 2011

Ghana 20.146 %
Qatar 14.337 %
Turkmenistan 12.178 %
China 9.908 %
Liberia 9.003 %
India 8.43 %
Angola 8.251 %
Iraq 7.873 %
Ethiopia 7.663 %
Mozambique 7.548 %
Timor Leste (East Timor) 7.4 %
Laos 7.395 %

Growth rates are much higher this year. The chart tops out at over 20%. Last year there was a projected high of 16.4% from growth leader Qatar.

We can see once again that developed countries do not feature in the Top 12. Almost half of the top 12 come from Africa. Ghana has swept from 4.5% last year, to an astonishing 20.146% for 2011.

One third of the Top 12 are from the Far East, two from the Middle East and one from Central Asia. In 2010 there was only one G20 nation in the Top 12. This time India also makes the grade. This is the beginning of a larger trend. According to a political economic expert, with China's ageing population and India's young demographic, India's growth rate will overtake China's within 10 years, as it will start to enjoy a ?demographic dividend.? However India will not be without its own challenges as the chief political economist David Caploe points.

* The African decade continues to hold sway. 2010 to 2020 is bringing massive development to the continent. As China continues to boom we will see the Chinese offer more large-scale infrastructure development to African governments in return for natural resources and farmland to support it's vast population. In turn African countries are continuing to challenge old perceptions of corruption and violence through practising better governance. Chart leader Ghana is one of Africa's strongest democracies. African countries will continue to veer in favour of increased prosperity. The picture continues to be replacement of Western aid for Africa by Eastern trade with Africa.

* Energy is still remains a major key and will continues to play a key role. We expect this trend to continue with the advent of ?peak oil? and the continuing upward trend in oil and natural gas prices. Countries like Qatar and Azerbaijan with their huge natural gas and oil reserves will continue to boom.

* Rapid population growth is a key factor in economic growth. The countries with some of the highest rates of population growth in the world dominate the growth chart. As their economies mature, expect to see this trend slow down somewhat for these countries.

* A low growth base offers more opportunity for expansion. This explains the lack of highly developed economies in the Top 12. As these markets contend with the credit crisis or as "Dr Dave likes to call it, the Loan Freeze", the ongoing costs of supporting an ageing population and the law of diminishing returns will ensure that we will see much higher growth performance from economies that have more room to grow.

* Democracy and transparency in governance is the only way to (peace and) promote economic development, countries like Ghana who are experiencing a new era of good governance will enjoy massive growth increases. Where there is peace and good governance, prosperity will follow as we see in other countries making profitable use of their resources for development, rather than wage war. Underdeveloped economies surging ahead for 2011 will assist in closing the gab between rich and poor in the World.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

RETURN2GREEN VISITS AFRICAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATIONS (AUCC) TO DISCUSS EDUCATION PROGRAMS BASED ON NEW TECHNOLOGIES

September 29, 2011 – Accra, Ghana
Press Release

RETURN2GREEN VISITS AFRICAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATIONS (AUCC) TO DISCUSS EDUCATION PROGRAMS BASED ON NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Ms. Lily He of Return2Green International and Professor Zhou visit AUCC President, Mr. Kojo Yankah, Chief Scientist, Dr. Moses Mensah, and Senior Staff for discussions on new courses to be offered by the University.


Mr. Yankah and Dr. Mensah intend to create “Green” primary and advanced degree courses for the new generations in the following disciplines: sustainable agricultural, agricultural waste recycling, renewable Green technologies, Green products development, Green biotechnology, environmental crises aversion, and other related areas of study.

Many of the courses will be based on the technologies developed by Prof. Mouzhi Zhou.

Return2Green International and Prof. Zhou are very excited at the prospects of contributing to the enhancement of Ghana’s students who wish to take those courses, eventually becoming tomorrow’s leaders in Green technology.

RETURN2GREEN CALLS ON MINISTER OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

September 29, 2011 – Accra, Ghana
Press Release

RETURN2GREEN CALLS ON MINISTER OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

Ms. Lily He of Return2Green International and Professor Zhou made a call on Hon. Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister of Food and Agriculture, and Cecilia Erzuah, Director of Finance and
Administration for the Ministry. Ms. He and Professor Zhou were invited to the Minister’s office to discuss the wide ranging benefits of using agriculture waste and plant fiber with Prof. Zhou’s MZ-3 manufacturing technology.

Full discussions were conducted on ways to capitalize on the technology and the immense benefits Ghana will realize by turning agriculture and plant fiber waste to create a wide range of environmentally friendly biodegradable products for a broad spectrum of industries.


Minister Ahwoi and Cecilia Erzuah, expressed their full support and appreciation to Return2Green International and Prof. Zhou for bringing the technology to Ghana. They are confident it will bring added status to the country’s agriculture and food production sectors as well as improving Ghana’s farmer economic status.

Mr. Kojo Yankah, President of Africa2Green, was also present at the meeting.