Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has made a passionate case for Ghana to use culture and language as strategic tools for attracting investment and strengthening national branding.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on October 27, the Effutu MP argued that promoting Ghanaian languages, traditions, and identity is as critical to economic growth as any fiscal or industrial policy.

His remarks come on the back of Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu’s directive to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to strictly enforce the use of mother tongue instruction in all Ghanaian schools — part of new efforts to reform the education sector and promote local languages in teaching and learning.

Afenyo-Markin said he first raised this issue in Parliament in 2018 but lamented that it did not receive the attention it deserved.

“All the international schools in Ghana, we have diplomats coming in, they want to take something away from Ghana. None of the international schools has as part of its teaching curriculum a Ghanaian language,” he said.

He noted that while international schools enjoy academic independence, they should still be encouraged to include Ghanaian culture and language in their systems.

“They have to factor in our culture and say, look, pick a Ghanaian language so that the child would learn,” he said, adding that it would be a source of pride for foreign students who live in Ghana for several years to be able to speak a local language.

According to him, this simple cultural integration could become a powerful branding tool for the country. “It’s how to sell the country. So we should not look at it differently, and I pray that the respected Minister of Tourism will take this up seriously. It’s something that we can do,” he urged.

He explained that investment decisions are not driven solely by policy documents or financial incentives, but also by the way of life of the people, their culture, and their openness to visitors.

“When we say investment, bringing investment to Ghana, it’s not all about just waiting for a policy document and saying, bring your money here.

"People consider all manner of things before they decide that, okay, I’m taking my money to this particular destination,” he said.

He added that the cultural identity of a nation can influence investor confidence and promote goodwill. “It’s the way of life, the people, how they live, and the level of acceptability.

"All those things come to play that encourage people to say, Okay, this is the right investment destination,” he stated.

Afenyo-Markin also reflected on how Ghana is viewed in the region.

“Today, the Ugandan opposition visited me, and the way they were talking about Ghana, I don’t think we Ghanaians even talk about our country the way they see us. They are so happy to say, look, you guys have achieved so much for yourselves, and they are so proud of us,” he said.

He described Ghana as “a heaven within our subregion” and stressed that the country could achieve much more by getting the “little variables that can sell the country” right.

“If we get them right and rally around it, we’ll create jobs through that and create opportunities for our people,” he concluded.