Dr. Henry Kwabena Kokofu, former Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has stressed that natural resource accounting (NRA) is the solution Ghana needs to overcome the resource curse.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Ghana News Agency, he described the resource curse as the irony of resource-rich nations languishing in poverty and conflict, despite their wealth.
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NRA, he explained, is a system that integrates the value of a country’s natural resources and environmental degradation into its national economic accounts. According to him, Ghana has for many years failed to properly quantify its natural capital. “We must know what we have, the quantity, and the cost,” he stated.
Dr. Kokofu underscored the need for a comprehensive natural capital account, pointing out that developed nations already factor the value of their natural assets into national accounts. He expressed concern that institutions such as the Ghana Statistical Service and the Geological Survey Authority had yet to fully embrace this practice, a gap that makes it difficult to ensure equitable distribution of wealth or hold resource managers accountable.
He cited the timber industry as an example of the historical shortcomings in resource governance, recalling how Ghana’s rush to export logs led to massive deforestation. “The nation is now paying a huge cost to rectify this through man-made forests,” he said, describing it as evidence of the short-sightedness that arises from failing to account for long-term environmental costs.
The former EPA head further called for reforms to empower Ghanaians to play a leading role in the extractive industry, from mining operations to the drafting of agreements. He maintained that such a system would ensure the country’s mineral wealth delivers maximum benefits to its citizens.
