Former Member of Parliament for Effia in the Western Region, Joseph Cudjoe, has said Ghana must break free from the dangerous mindset that natural resources are the foundation of wealth.
In a circular released on Sunday, October 11, 2026, Cudjoe said Ghana has become fixated on its mineral endowment as the answer to its economic challenges, at a time when national conversations have been dominated by gold earnings, lithium agreements and calls for greater local participation in mining.
He said this resource-focused thinking risks producing a nation that is rich in minerals but poor in innovation, employment and industrial capability.
“We have become so obsessed with what lies beneath our soil that we risk underestimating what lies within our people. We celebrate gold, bauxite, manganese and lithium, yet pay insufficient attention to the knowledge, skills, innovation and productive capabilities that transform nations into economic powerhouses,” he said.
The former MP said countries such as Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and Denmark have demonstrated that abundant natural resource wealth is not a prerequisite for national prosperity.
He argued that history shows materials once considered indispensable can lose their strategic and commercial value due to technology and substitutes, citing aluminium, natural ultramarine, natural alum, flint and asbestos.
“Our gold, bauxite, manganese and lithium present opportunities, but opportunities are not guarantees of lasting prosperity. Technological breakthroughs, alternative materials, recycling and changing industrial needs can alter demand and prices,” he said.
Cudjoe said Ghana must invest heavily in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and build productive capacity above the ground, rather than relying on what is beneath it.
“Our future must be extracted from our people, not from the ground,” he added.
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