By | April 1, 2019

KNUST Public Lecture on Party Politics, Capital Accumulation and the Rise of ‘Small Boys’ Capitalists in Contemporary Ghana

Abstract

In the last two decades, impressive growth rates have been recorded in a number of states in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nonetheless, economic transformation has not happened in much of Africa. The ‘emerging Africa’ narrative is linked to political liberalisation and its growth inducing features such as democratic governance, peace and stability. The aim of this paper is to question whether liberal democracy as institutionalised in Africa has any bearing on the emerging class of home-grown capitalists. Using Ghana as a case study, this paper explores a number of questions: what is the link between party politics and capital accumulation, and how is capital accumulated in ‘non-capitalist’ environment? The empirical part of the analysis is based on data collected through in-depth interviews with political elites, technocrats, business people and party activists. The paper argues that party politics facilitates access to public capital and its accumulation and, consequently the rise of the new generation of indigenous capitalists. It concludes that capital is largely accumulated from public resources. Two types of capital are mobilised in the political arena; party membership allows political entrepreneurs to mobilise ‘phantom’ capital through their proxy companies. Much of the phantom capital is re-invested in partisan politics. On the other hand, special government initiatives allow ‘real’ capital to be mobilised by large business enterprises. The mobilised capital is used to expand or diversify the business and wean it from political control.

Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Time: 3pm – 4pm

Presenter: Dr. George M. BOB-MILLIAR (Senior Lecturer/Head), Department of History and Political Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

Email: gbobmilliar.cass@knust.edu.gh / bobmilliar1@gmail.com

Venue: Centre for Cultural and African Studies

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