He said this had become important because there was no evidence of how any single country in the world had developed through dependence on aid.

“There is a malaise that needs urgent cure and is again a recognition that our current development trajectory needs an immediate paradigm shift.

 “It is clear that no nation on earth has woven its way out of poverty and created equal opportunities for her citizens with an over-reliance on imported goods without a concerted effort towards industrialisation,” he said at the 29th annual CIMG Marketing Performance Awards held in Accra at the weekend.

He said the government’s resolve to move Ghana from the claws of an aid-dependent and beggar-bowl economy, to a self-sufficient and prosperous nation, which is able to provide all the basic essentials for its people, could be compared to the Marshall Plan of 1948 which could also be referred to as the local Marshall Plan.

“The only drift and reality is that we all have to decide to shift our taste buds and our entire national psyche from the perception that only foreigners can help develop Ghana.

 We can move Ghana beyond aid by eschewing all the vices of graft and corruption and their effects on the cost of services and projects in the country.

It is particularly important to do away with corruption because the ordinary people eventually end up paying a high price for the cost of corruption in the public sector,” he said.

Reflections on theme

Explaining the rationale for choosing the theme for the awards: “Marketing – a Catalyst for Driving Ghana Beyond Aid,” Mr Matta said it was carefully selected to help properly shape the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda, by mainstreaming and positioning the plan at the core of every national discussion and action.

He explained that over-liberalisation and an excessive appetite for foreign support had chocked the economy over the years, hence the need for conscious efforts to reverse the trend.

“The Ghana Beyond Aid mantra cannot remain a mere rhetoric. It is a call to duty.

 It is a renaissance in every facet of our national life. It is a call for change in our educational, legal, governance, political, religious and social structures and systems of the country; it is a call for a collective change in the behavioural patterns of all citizens of our country.

We believe that Ghana has both the material and human capacity to help move us from the current quagmire to a future state of prosperity and hope for all citizens of this country,” he said.

The CIMG President also commended the government for choosing to chart a new path of moving Ghana beyond Aid and expressed the readiness of the institute to support the government in that regard.

“We at the CIMG and all marketing professionals are ready to help reposition Brand Ghana, to help mainstream the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda.

It is only when we turn Ghana into a brand and strategically reposition the nation well that those in the marketplace can begin seeing us as relevant players on the world stage.”

“We can achieve this by changing our attitudes towards work and by reducing absenteeism and the many otherwise productive hours wasted at work,” he said.

The Awards

Started 29 years ago, the annual CIMG Marketing Performance Awards was instituted to honour deserving individuals and organisations, who have distinguished themselves in various sectors of the economy with their contributions in various spheres of the national development agenda.

Some individuals and organisations have also been admitted to CIMG Marketing Hall of Fame.

Mr Matta explained that the awards had also gingered many managers and industries to excel in their various fields of endeavour because they had realised that being decorated with an award by the CIMG was an admission into a proud peerage.

“This is the more reason why the Council of the CIMG holds two facets of the assessment very dear to our hearts.

 First, is the qualification criteria, which has been reviewed and elevated to internationally accepted standards and second, is the objective and fair manner in which awardees are selected.”

“Which is why since the turn of the century, we have been adapting and re-engineering the awards scheme to ensure that it remains the most credible industry awards scheme in this part of the hemisphere.

 I must, therefore, add that all of you who will be decorated today with citations and silverwares should be proud of joining the rich cadre of past recipients of these coveted awards,” he added.