The Influence of Transnational Ghanaians

The planned debate of the ruling National Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidates as the major mark of the NPP-USA 2007 Congress on October 20, 2007 in Dallas, Texas, USA raises the increasing influence of transnational Ghanaians on their homeland more than before. In the last couple of years, prominent Ghanaian politicians, businessmen and women, and traditional rulers have been making the rounds globally interacting with transnational Ghanaians for all sorts of deals and connections – all boiling down to the development of Ghana.

This has played into the fact that either by accident or providential design, there are almost 3 million Ghanaians abroad, and growing, who are critical part of the key sustenance of Ghana – the Bank of Ghana, the central bank, and the World Bank report that transnational Ghanaians transmit well over US$4.3 billion in 2007 to Ghana, an increase from US$400 million in 2001.

[Read more]