Viewpoint: Are there too many Ghanaians?

15 February 2011
In our series of viewpoints from African journalists, Ghanaian writer and politi
cian Elizabeth Ohene wonders whether less is more.
I am on record as having the deepest scepticism for any set of figures from offi
cialdom in Ghana.
In any place where people have such total disregard for their personal individua
l statistics, the group figures cannot be reliable.
This is the country where less than 40% of births are registered and an even sma
ller number of deaths are registered.
Continue reading the main story
Start Quote
Nephews, nieces, people whose school fees you pay and those who spend holida
ys in your home for any reason all qualify to be listed as your children
End Quote
This is the country where the number of children a person has is not a biologica
l function.
For example, in other parts of the world, you can take an obituary notice as a r
eliable source of information on the details of the dead person's life: Date of
birth, day he died, family that survived him.
In Ghana it does not quite work like that.
Nephews, nieces, people whose school fees you pay and those who spend holidays i
n your home for any reason all qualify to be listed as your children.
I therefore approach the announcement from the Ghana Statistical Services that t
he estimates from the 2010 census put Ghana's population at 24 million with all
these hedges.
Is bigger better?
All the same I cannot help but be shocked and dismayed at the rate of population
growth in this country - if the figures are correct, that is.
So far, most of the complaints I have heard claim that there has been a drastic
underestimation of the numbers.
The only claim of overestimation has come from the main opposition party, NPP, w
hich says there has been gross overestimation in the Volta Region, but seeing th
at region is the area of least support for the party, this complaint is not like
ly to gain any traction.
Ghanaian President John Atta Mills turns on the valve at an offshore platform on
15 December 2010 Ghana's president turns a valve in December last year to start
the pumping of oil
The chances are by the time the census people are done and the majority of peopl
e are satisfied, the 24 million figure will go up.
I know that there are some among us who believe that a big population makes us m
ore important.
Really?
I remember before independence in 1957 when Ghana's population was just under fi
ve million - about a million more than Norway's was before that country discover
ed oil in the late 1960s.
Continue reading the main story
Ghana and Norway in Figures
* 1960 Ghana: 6.7m; Norway: 3.6m
* 2010 Ghana: 24m; Norway: 4.9m
* World Bank population comparison
Today Norway remains the model for how to manage oil wealth and, as we in Ghana
have been telling ourselves recently, Norway had already done all its basic infr
astructure development before striking oil.
Today Norway's population is just under five million and we are 24 million and l
ikely to be more when the final figures come in.
We blame our inability to develop more rapidly on corruption and bad governance
and this is largely true.
But it seems to me that even if nobody ever stole any money from government in t
he past 50 years and we all worked as hard as we should, a 24-million-populated
Ghana would probably still be receiving aid from Norway with its population of u
nder five million.
Many Ghanaians seem to think a big population is something to be proud of, proba
bly because of our cousins in Nigeria who are said to number 150 million.
But just imagine that we were talking about even 12 million people in Ghana, sur
ely this would be a more manageable nation?
The rate of deforestation would slow down, the number of classroom blocks we req
uire would be fewer, the amount of waste we generate would be less, the number o
f prophets and churches would be fewer, the noise level would be less and, who k
nows, there might be fewer Elizabeth Ohenes?
But I do fear this pressure to up the census figure, it might well mean our midd
le income status will turn out to be very short lived, and I was so beginning to
enjoy it.
If you would like to comment on Elizabeth Ohene's latest column, please use the
form below. A selection of views will be published.
For Ghana, read any country you choose. Resources (and consequently wealth)
are finite everywhere, and population increase is not compatible with aspiration
s to reduce poverty. And even in the wealthier countries, the cost of keeping in
frastructure up with rising populations is economically crippling.
Simon McInnes, Caterham, UK
I was going to argue that a higher population would, on the other hand, resu
lt in higher income tax revenues, but that argument died even before it left my
mouth, considering that there is virtually no collection of income taxes through
out much of the continent. Regardless, a higher population DOES imply a larger -
and more appealing domestic market for local and international firms; more gove
rnmental revenue from business taxes, excise duties, and tariffs; and more oppor
tunity for technological innovation and gains in economic productivity. Populati
on growth isn't a one - way street. Just look at our neighbours here in West Afr
ica - Equatorial Guinea. There you have a very low population blessed with an ab
undant amount of oil. The country has among the highest GDP in the world, but th
e vast majority of its population has nothing to show for it, and is only doing
as well as the Cameroonians next door.
Kevin Amirehsani,, Dschang, Cameroon
The conclusions are only partially right. Harnessing available resources in
intelligent ways can be more important than population growth. Our earth current
ly supports about 6.9 billion human beings (US Census Bureau 2010) as well as ot
her innumerable species of flora and fauna. Would the earth be better off if we
were two billion? Before we pontificate about population vis-a-vis resources, as
k the question: how come Ghana has a population problem when Monaco (1.95 sq km
with 32,719 people) does not, or even The Vatican (0.44 sq km with 829 people)?
Lessons continue to be learnt regarding relationships between stages of human de
velopment and birth rates. Every region with its available and expandable resour
ces needs a certain critical mass of people to get to a level of development whe
re conditions will not allow producing babies like rabbits.
Rbyaruha, Kampala, Uganda
It's a striking piece of work you've done but I think the bit about the "nep
hews, nieces, people whose school fees you pay and those who spend holidays in y
our home for any reason, all qualify to be listed as your children", should be s
een in a cultural context. For example, Ashanti culture in Ghana does not recogn
ise cousins, uncles and aunts .All these relatives are recognised as siblings, f
athers and mothers respectively. Secondly, population figures, inaccurate as the
y may seem, only serve as a guide for future planning.
Ricky Obiri-Yeboah, Accra, Ghana
I honestly think the census officials either recruited incompetent people or
the workers got tired at a point in time. I never took part in the census and n
either did my colleagues at work. We were informed whilst at work that the offic
ials were in the building and that they were going to come to ask questions rega
rding the exercise. No-one came, leaving all eight people in my office departmen
t uncounted. I wonder how credible that register is.
Nii Amarh Nathan, Accra, Ghana
A friend once said that the problem with Africa is that Africa does not know
her problem. I agree with her submission because unplanned families take their
toll on national, social and family development. When Dr Busia spoke of family p
lanning in the early seventies I can still remember the insult Ghanaians poured
upon him, because most Ghanaian men only produce children and leave them for the
women or the government to take care of. Isn't it ridiculous that the governmen
t has to provide school children with uniforms? Where are the fathers? We must w
ake up and put our acts together.
Samuel Appiah, Accra, Ghana
I agree that the belief that larger populations are beneficial to our econom
ies is one of the biggest fallacies and is one of the issues dragging our belove
d continent deeper into poverty and dependency on the developed world. My countr
y's President Museveni has been encouraging families to bear more children with
a view of taking advantage of the economies of scale. This is a recipe for disas
ter and will further entrench us into poverty and unrest as fewer and fewer peop
le get access to fundamental services.
Paul, Kampala, Uganda
 This argument is true across the continent. The high birth rate is always co
nsidered a blessing, while we don't spare a thought to the consequences and effe
cts of these births. Yes, corruption is a fundamental problem on the continent,
high birth rate should not be ignored. The PEW Foundation recent conclusions on
population in Nigeria has been giving me sleepless nights, while our leaders hav
e not bothered to spare a thought about the socio-economic, political and securi
ty implications this will have come 2030 or before. Where will these extra popul
ation work? Will they be accommodated on trees like monkeys; as it is, health fa
cilities are already over stretched, where they are available; our educational s
ystem have failed to accommodate the number of applicants; poverty is becoming m
ore endemic; today, the future is bleak and getting bleaker. Except family plann
ing is encouraged on a large scale, poverty will remain entrenched on the contin
ent.
John Ojoye, Jos, Nigeria