The Privatization Conundrum in Ghana: Lessons from Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra

Abstract

Since independence, there have been copious generalizations and general outcry among Ghanaians especially social commentators and policy analysts about the under-development of Ghana. One of the factors that accounted for the slow pace of development of the country is the limited attention paid to the provision of enabling the environment to facilitate the boom of the private sector. Is the private sector not contributing enough to attract the necessary attention of government? Whatever the case may be the crux of this work is that: nurturing the private sector by the government is more likely to contribute largely to the development of Ghana. This work explores the developmental models of Ghanaian governments and the private sector, the rationale for privatization and as its case study, examines the contributions of Golden Tulip, Accra; previously a public enterprise but now ceded to a private venture to test the tentative statement. The work examines whether the contributions of the private sector specifically Golden Tulip to national development is better than when it was under state ownership. Using in-depth interview and secondary data, the measures of improvement in hotel Continental after it has been privatized and rebranded as Golden Tulip include: employment, payment of taxes, financial viability, welfare services among others. The study combines information from both primary and secondary sources. Primary information is obtained from a personal interview conducted by experts in the public and private sectors as well as in academia and focus group discussions. While secondary source data is taken from both published and unpublished scholarly works and articles on the topic. It is found that the development of the private sector should not be seen as an end in itself but as part of the means of promoting a better standard of living, foster development. In addition, when the enabling environment is created it will contribute largely to the development of Ghana. Also, it has been discovered that the private is bedevilled with the following challenges: lack of political commitment to private sector’s development, reluctance of financial institutions to take risks with private sector bodies, inadequate entrepreneurial skills of some private sector operators, bureaucratic practices among the public sector regulators or supervisory bodies, non-accrual of the benefits of the private sector development to micro and small enterprise sector among others. The research finally makes inferences, deductions, conclusions and recommendations necessary for the development of Ghana and for the readership of all and sundry especially the management of Golden Tulip, Accra which may be interested in the subject.