“The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” This quote attributed to Oscar Wilde seems to make sense, even today.
As we interrogate the cost of a project, and everything including travel, let us sometimes assess the value and benefits derived or to be derived from the same. Not every benefit can be quantified in monetary terms.
To mention a few, the President’s travels have resulted in many opportunities including the Synohydro deal which part of the amount received is being used to construct interchanges in Tamale and Takoradi as well as the construction and asphalting of inner-city roads. Specifically, the travels and the negotiation skills of the President helped in;
1. United States of America’s, tech giant, Google chose Ghana in the whole of Africa to establish its AI Research and Development Centre.
2. Similarly, in April 2021, the social media network, Twitter, announced its presence in Africa with the establishment of its continental headquarters in Ghana.
3. In April 2021, Ghana was chosen as the location for Germany’s West African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention. This will be one of the 8 similar centers Germany will be building the entire over world.
4. Last amongst the many, the President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, embarked on a trip to Germany. While in Germany, the President met with the Pfizer vaccine manufacturers in an attempt to convince them to help Ghana establish a vaccine manufacturing plant in Ghana. On the same trip, the President used his influence to secure Ghana, 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca Vaccines. This is a shot in the arm of government as it focuses on vaccinating about 20 million Ghanaians by the end of the year.
