Feature Impact Of �Walegopoly� On Businesses In Wa

Studying economics is tiring and confusing, not for anything but for the conceptualisation of reality. It seems economic thinkers are not from planet earth because reasoning with them is like committing mental suicide. It doesn�t work thinking along with economic thinkers because they live in a dreaming world. Mr. Francis Doodo the economics lecturer didn�t help either with his piffle jargons. Talking for nearly an hour he asked; �I hope we are together.� With obvious confused faces we replied�. No sir!� And that was it; the class has ended. He furiously left the class because of our inability as students to understand the concept -Market structure, something he branded as �this common thing�. He could have made the lesson easier if he had simply related the concept to what we the student see around us in Wa the capital of Upper West Region. Probably he did that because this writer heard him saying things like �pure competitive market�, �Oligopoly�, �monopoly�, and some other �polices�. But the fact is, this writer saw strange images and strange images are not part of Economics. At least monitoring news in the media for some time now it has become obvious or better still �common� that competitive market and monopoly are the basic economic structures recognised in the Ghanaian economic system. This in a way is to satisfy the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) through privatisation and government control. The media has made the lecturer�s work easier, the writer guess! According to the DPSP article 36(1) the government must �ensure that the national economy is managed in such a manner as to maximise the rate of economic development and to secure the maximum welfare in Ghana and to provide sustainable employment. Just as the DPSP tasked the government, so are the citizens who are to bear their fair share of social and national responsibility to the development of the country. In short the government has a duty so are the citizens and this is necessary looking at the current macroeconomic challenges the country is facing. The World Bank overview of Ghana�s economy suggests that the economy slowed down to an estimated rate of 5.5 per cent in 2013 and was expected to remain the same in 2014. The ministry of finance has also made a similar observation on its official website indicating that the country�s total debt both external and domestic as at August 2013 stood at 49.44 per cent of GDP. Dr. Kofi Wampah,the Governor of Bank of Ghana has announced early this year that the current public debt is now GH�56 billion a leap from GH�51.6 billion. Inflation keeps leaping and has become a major blow to the economy. The World Bank have attributed this to high wage bill, increased interest cost, the energy subsidy and a shortfall in revenue collection. Enough with the figures and economic terminologies, the point here is that the government seriously owes to the extent that the revenues it generates annually can�t even service Ghana�s debts. But as it is, the government is not sitting on the fence watching the defeat of the country�s economic future. The government, as a parent is struggling to keep the economy of Ghana in good shape as ordered by the DPSP. The good people of Ghana are also doing their best to preserve its good name. The efforts of these good people manifest in most of the Central business Districts (CBD) across the country and the people of Upper West Region capital Wa are no exemption. Marked as the poorest region in the country, Upper West Region also contributes to the nation�s economic basket to ease government burden but with an economic structure yet to be understood by economist. Let�s call it Walegopoly. This is to reflect the indigenous people in Wa who speak the Wale language and the customer relations principles they have adapted. Economic venture in Wa is about 85% owned by individual(s) with the remaining percentage owned by the government. A close study not scientific, indicates that most ventures are owned by the Wale People with some owned by the Asantes, Dagombas and Nigerians. Unlike other regional capitals where street hawkers are a problem, Wa is blessed. The issue of traffic jam is virtually not in existence and the standard of living is fairly high. Students in the various tertiary institutions within the region especially those from University for Development Studies (UDS) and Wa Polytechnic have for the past years served as a source of population increase in the capital. The Wa CBD which is popularly known as the Wa market, houses all kinds of ventures with hundreds scattered along the so-called Wa ceremonial street. The Wa municipal assembly with support from the Urban Development Grant (UDG) is currently constructing a market complex at a cost of GH�900,000 to house businesses in the capital. But will this initiative change the poor customer relations on the side of most economic ventures in the capital? The point is this, Walegopoly as a tempted to term it, is more or less a practice among most business in Wa where the customer relations of most producers are economically disgraceful. It�s a common practice which deprives the consumers of his/her right and, also the producer of the revenue. It�s like a common disease. Most entities are affected even the regional ministries. Time is not an element in Walegopoly. The principle of lateness conceived out of a sense of ownership reigns in this kind of market structure staging in Wa. A close monitoring of daily economic activities in the Upper West Regional capital reveals that unlike Accra, Kumasi and Tamale where most businesses starts about 4am in the morning, especially those owned by individuals, the situation is different in Wa. It baffles to see key shops like Foka also known as Wa Melcom, La Frans, Glamour and several so-called shops closed as far as 9:30 am. The situation is worse at the central market. For some petty traders coming early will be a waste of time. According to some of them business is good around 12pm so why the need to come early. Whilst others report at about 10am most believe that economic activation can be done at 11am.�I can�t come and sit here for hours and only one person will buy something�, Wonta, a maize seller said. An interaction with some consumers revealed the opposite of the producers stand. Maya and her colleagues from UDS have been standing in front of Glamour for 30min now. They want to buy a bag of rice and some other stuff but the attendants are now arranging the place, the time is 9:17am. They had no alternative because the next shop is closed. This triggers the question who needs the money and who needs the goods. One business principle Mr. Doodo always stress is �never keep the stock as producer, they must go to the consumer, the money with the consumer should be the target. With Walegopoly the seller has the power, the power of time. Walegopoly places emphasis on the right of the producer to respond to the consumer when necessary. A situation where welcome to �my shop� is a conflict. It�s either the lady standing behind the counter is chewing gum, not smiling, dozing or chatting with a colleague who sends rude chills through spine of customers. Note, with Walegopoly the principle holds that the buyer ��must walk away or wait patiently if the producer is not in the mood just to avoid quarrel� a �chop bar� customer said. Walegopoly has no recognition for night market or 24 hour services. You�re assured of hunger if you miss the afternoon meal. That�s if you are not a fun of late night tea with egg. The streets of Wa dies very early at least by 10pm. The popular culture of �I don�t have change� is very common. You either get the change to your denomination or you don�t get the commodity. Another element is religion. It�s rather uncomfortable but it still needs to be discussed. Either the shop attendant is gone to the mosque or is performing Jummah in the shop. The non-verbal responses are �go and come back another time� or better still look elsewhere. For Sundays unless it�s a market day The culture of �my family member� is another disease with this economic system in Wa which is a clear violation of the entity principle in accounting. Mr. Alhassan Banjo, a butcher at the Wa central market revealed in an interview that family members only collapse the business but he can�t just let them go without giving them what they want.�Here in Wa you can�t make it if you are a native, the family kin will collapse the business� he said. Upon second thought I got to understand why some of the serious ventures owned by some natives have notices such as �No credit today�, �for credit come tomorrow� and �family help business grow when they pay�. Walegopoly can�t indeed solve the country�s underdevelopment, it will worsen it. In other words the DPSP will be a mere written statement if such attitudes are not checked especially in Wa. The construction of a market complex is a good idea but less will be achieved in boosting the economy in the Upper West if the Walegopoly thing is not curbed. Dr. Ephram Nsoh, former Upper West Regional Minister said, �We are told that by the last Ghana standard survey, we are the last of all the regions. The people of this region have refused that position and have vowed to place themselves at the top hence this strategy.� The strategy is the consumer protection agency teaming up with the National Commission for Civic Education and the Information Department to educate the producers-public on the right of the consumer and the need for proper customer relations. Wa is a fertile ground for investment and this won�t be a waste if the concept of Walegopoly is controlled.