By Jesse Ampah Owusu, GNA
Accra, Nov. 14 , GNA – Dr Ishmael E. Yamson, Board Chairman of MTN Ghana, has called for a fundamental institutional reset of the Ghanaian state, saying economic stabilisation alone cannot deliver the transformation the country seeks.
He said Ghana’s challenges went beyond fiscal deficits, unemployment and inadequate infrastructure, pointing to deeper structural problems, including weak institutions, poor enforcement of rules, political patronage, politicisation of public institutions and corruption.
Dr Yamson made these remarks on Thursday when he addressed the 2026 University of Ghana (UG) Alumni Lecture, organised by the University’s Alumni Association at Legon.
The event was held on the theme: “From Vision to Transformation – Can Ghana Truly Reset to Inspire Africa’s Reset?”
Dr Yamson said Ghana’s development challenge was not a lack of vision but the inability to translate ideas into consistent, disciplined and sustained implementation.
He noted that successive governments had introduced several development frameworks, including Vision 2020, Ghana Beyond Aid, Ghana@100 and Vision 2057, yet the country’s fundamental challenges persisted.
He said the difficulty had been building institutions capable of delivering development, adding that Ghana had often been good at envisioning its desired future but less successful in creating the institutional structures needed to achieve it.
Dr Yamson warned against what he described as the “party capture of the state”, where access to public office, contracts, state enterprises and appointments became dependent on political affiliation.
“The party is temporary, the government is temporary, but the state is permanent. A political party must win the state in order to govern, but it must never own the state,” he said.
He outlined 10 critical measures for national transformation, including depoliticising the professional public service, reforming appointments to independent constitutional bodies, establishing enforceable campaign finance rules, professionalising boards of state-owned enterprises and creating an independent electronic public procurement regime.
Other measures included strengthening the independence and enforcement capacity of accountability institutions, making asset declaration and conflict-of-interest rules effective, establishing binding national development objectives, enforcing performance contracts and building a permanent national anti-corruption compact.
Dr Yamson challenged Ghana to lead efforts to inspire Africa’s reset, saying the country’s independence was never merely a national achievement but part of a broader African emancipation struggle.
He said Ghana should aspire to become a successful African country that helped the continent succeed.
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, underscored the role of universities in preparing citizens to build strong institutions capable of addressing society’s fundamental challenges.
She said those who had benefited from university education had a responsibility to help move the nation forward from its current challenges.
“I know that tonight’s lecture will continue to inspire and build a renewed commitment to action. The transformation is a collective responsibility,” she said.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Jesse Ampah Owusu
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