Natural Resources

 Even though Ghana has some of the most precious natural resources, the general population is poor. Yes, some of Ghana’s natural resources include gold, diamonds, and limestone, so now you’re probably wondering why the people of Ghana aren’t living large. Well, in this essay you will find out.

Here’s how it works. Mining for these resources creates jobs for the locals. These small scale mining jobs make them some money. But most of the money goes to the rich mine owners and government. The large mining companies don’t pay workers very much and they have bad working conditions, plus most people in Ghana rely on small scale mining for employment which also doesn’t pay much.  The government supports big foreign mining companies so they let them come in and extract all the natural resources out of the ground with fancy machines. This jeopardizes the locals small scale jobs because they can’t mine as much and once again all the money goes to the government and rich people, keeping the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer. This is how the natural resources gold, diamonds and limestone affect the culture in Ghana because mining for them is how most of the population finds employment. Also, the money from foreign mining pumps money into Ghana’s economy so this is how the natural resources gold, diamonds, and limestone effect Ghana’s economy and culture.

            Timber and fish are some other natural resources of Ghana. The way timber effects Ghana’s economy is that it can be chopped down and sold. Chopping it down creates jobs and selling it creates money. Not only can they sell it locally, but they can export the timber. Since the government needs to make more money on exports, this pressures the forests so more trees are getting chopped down then should causing deforestation. Also, some people come in and illegally chop down and sell the timber. Therefore, the local people in Ghana don’t make that much money on selling timber. So timber doesn’t really help the economy because people sell it illegally. Ghana’s fish resources are good though and fishing creates jobs, and jobs create money for Ghana’s people. This is how fish and timber affect the economy of Ghana.

            Exporting natural resources makes the government a lot of money. However, the general population is still very poor. This is because all the money made on exports and large mining goes to the government and rich people. So even though they have great natural resources, the rich get richer and the poor stay poor. Therefore the only way for the people in Ghana to get money is by opening a business. That is what our entrepreneur Salifu Hassana is doing, she wants to maintain and expand her millet porridge sales so she can make money and support her family. One day she hopes to buy a piece of land and extend her millet sales. By selling to the community she can help not only herself but the community as well. So that is why she needs our help.