Sixty years ago, Ghana made a historic leap with the adoption of the Cedi as its currency—a bold move that signified more than economic functionality. It symbolized sovereignty, ambition, and the will to define her own path as a nation. In its early years, it bore the hopes of a new republic.
Today, it bears the imprint of decades of decisions. As the country marks six decades of its currency, the moment calls for more than commemoration—it demands a deep reflection on the kind of leadership that sustains both a nation’s currency, its credibility as well as the corporate space.
At this milestone, the question confronting Ghana’s public and corporate leadership is simple, yet profound: what kind of legacy are we minting? The answer may well define the next 60 years.
Africa’s greatest need is not simply more capital—it is more of strategic leadership. We often govern and manage in cycles, not systems. Elections, quarterly targets, board tenures, and annual audits have conditioned many to think in short bursts, rather than in long arcs. But leadership—real, strategic leadership—thinks beyond the chair it occupies.
The temptation in both politics and corporate management is to pursue short wins—policies or projects that dazzle on the surface but decay beneath. In both public service and corporate leadership, the pressure to deliver short-term wins often overshadows the responsibility to build long-term value. Governments chase milestones that fit within political cycles, while CEOs focus on quarterly returns to satisfy boards.
Strategic leadership is different, it builds enduring value. It thinks succession, not just success. In the world of economics, currencies are backed by reserves and reputation. In governance, they are backed by integrity and institutional stability.
Strategic leaders think in terms of generations, not terms of office. They understand that power is not in possession, but in preservation. It is in the structures, systems, and standards they leave behind.
The Cedi is a particularly apt metaphor here. It changes hands, yet has endured over time, and its value is sustained by belief in the system that backs it.
The most enduring institutions weren’t built by leaders obsessed with immediacy; they were built by those who anchored today’s actions in tomorrow’s aspirations. From succession planning to institutional memory, from policy continuity to culture-shaping—thinking beyond tenure is not idealism; it’s intelligent strategy.
Whether in government or business, it’s time to reframe leadership success not by how fast we move, but by what we set in motion for the future.
Building Durable Institutions That Outlive Leaders
There is a direct correlation between strong institutions and stable currencies. Where institutions are weak, trust erodes; where trust erodes, currencies depreciate; and when currencies lose credibility, it is the poor who pay the steepest price. Strong institutions, on the other hand, offer predictability, trust, and resilience.
Strategic leadership must therefore be obsessed with institution-building. It follows, then, that institution-building is not a side job of leadership—it is the job.
Institutions are the invisible architecture that holds society together: regulatory bodies that work without bias, procurement systems that operate without kickbacks, succession plans that don’t collapse with a change in leadership. They offer predictability in a volatile world. They enable scale, attract investment, and ensure continuity.
In governance and in business alike, institutions are the true vessels of national and organizational progress. They are the structures that absorb shocks, preserve continuity, and deliver on promises long after any single leader has exited the stage.
Too often in Ghana—and across much of Africa—progress is tied too closely to personalities. Reforms are initiated with great fanfare, only to unravel with a change in leadership. New executives enter boardrooms or ministries and dismantle what came before, not always out of necessity, but out of ego, partisanship, or the absence of institutional memory. This is the very antithesis of legacy thinking.
Durable institutions are those that are:
Rule-bound, not ruler-bound. They are guided by clearly codified laws, charters, or operational frameworks—not the whims or preferences of whoever happens to be in charge.
Mission-driven, not personality-driven. They operate from a shared vision and set of values that transcend individuals.
Responsive, not reactive. They are designed to evolve through feedback and data, not panic or politics.
Self-replenishing. They have mechanisms for internal renewal—succession planning, capacity building, and continuous learning.
These qualities do not emerge by accident. They are built, nurtured, and defended—often by leaders who are willing to subdue their personal ambition for institutional longevity.
Whether in government, business, or development work, we must ask: What are we institutionalizing? Are we embedding cultures of transparency, meritocracy, innovation, and service? Or are we leaving a trail of broken systems propped up by personality?
The African continent has witnessed too many initiatives that rise and fall with their champions. Visionary leadership must mature into systems leadership. Like the cedi, institutions should have their own weight—independent of who is in charge.
The Role of Courage, Continuity, and Conviction
Ghana, as well as, its firms do not lack ambition. What it often lacks is the trifecta that turns ambition into legacy: courage, continuity, and conviction.
Courage to make tough calls and challenge the status quo, reforms that bite in the short term but heal in the long term; continuity across transitions, so that policies and institutions are not torn down with every new administration or leadership change; and conviction that leadership is not about self-enrichment.
Conviction fuels the patience to see transformation through—even when the rewards will be reaped by someone else. Leaders with conviction are not obsessed with recognition; they are committed to impact.
The cedi’s journey—from its rise, through inflationary pressures and redenomination—is not only a story of economics, it is a tale of governance: of choices made, deferred, or avoided. It reminds us that every fiscal outcome is ultimately a leadership decision.
The cedi has survived six decades because, at critical junctures, Ghana found the courage to reform, the will to stabilize, and the resilience to rebuild. It is now time for those lessons to be hardwired into our corporate and governance DNA.
Visionary Leadership
One of the most underrated traits of effective leadership is the ability to serve as an interpreter. Visionary leaders translate complex economic realities into relatable, empowering narratives that help citizens understand their role in national or company progress.
Consider this: inflation isn’t just a statistic, it’s a story about rising prices of goods in the marketplace. Exchange rate volatility isn’t just numbers—it’s a business owner importing raw materials and experiencing significant difference depending on when the payment is made, even if the price in the other country’s currency stays the same. The national budget isn’t a document—it’s a declaration of priorities.
Leaders who understand this don’t hide behind jargons. They own the economic story, explain the context, and articulate a pathway forward. Visionary leadership knows how to manage not only resources, but expectations. It doesn’t overpromise and under deliver. It doesn’t pretend when people are hurting. Instead, it tells the truth with strategy, invites public participation, and makes the people part of the economic solution.
Trust, like currency, is earned. It is accumulated over time, and can be lost in a moment. The value of the Cedi, and indeed of national institutions, rests on public trust. Rebuilding and reinforcing that trust is the foremost task of today’s leadership class.
This trust is not built by press releases alone– it is built by track records, by the prompt delivery of public goods, by honoring contracts, by managing national resources with a sense of stewardship, not entitlement.
Corporate leaders, too, have a role to play. Corporate organizations must raise the bar—not just in profit margins, but in purpose-driven enterprise. Ethical business is a patriotic business. Besides, governance is not the government’s work alone.
We must groom leaders who can resist the tyranny of short-termism; leaders who are not afraid to invest in reforms whose fruits may not ripen during their tenure; leaders who view power not as an inheritance to enjoy, but as a platform to empower others. This is the mindset a nation needs—not only in Parliament, but in every place where influence is exercised.
Leadership as the Multiplier of Value
Leadership is the ultimate multiplier in any value chain. It sets the tone for what is prioritized, protected, and promoted. When leadership is ethical, informed, and forward-looking, productivity increases, trust deepens, and innovation flourishes. When it is absent or extractive, value leaks.
Reclaiming national and corporate value in a country begins with governance—not just at the state level, but in boardrooms, financial institutions, NGOs, and media spaces. Across sectors, leaders must champion a culture of value creation through:
Clarity of Vision: National development must be based on a shared vision of value creation—not donor agendas or election cycles. National development must flow from a clearly defined and broadly owned vision—not donor-driven scripts or politically convenient manifestos.
Integrity in Finance: Ethical banking, transparent procurement, and accountable public spending are not optional—they are patriotic duties.
Education for Production: Education system must be retooled to produce makers, thinkers, and builders—not just certificate holders. It must be recalibrated from exam-passing to problem-solving. Every country needs producers, innovators, and builders—not just graduates.
Policy Consistency: Long-term policies, insulated from political volatility, are key to investor confidence and industrial scale-up.
Celebration of Local Excellence: Leaders must elevate local innovation, enterprise, and creativity—not just tolerate it.
Strategic leadership must now shift its gaze from the fleeting to the foundational, from applause to accountability, from temporary popularity to enduring institutions.
If the value of our currency is a measure of our collective confidence in the future, then it is time to lead with purpose, with vision, and with legacy in mind.
An economy that only works for the connected few is not sustainable; a currency that holds no meaning for the average citizen is not truly strong; a corporate ecosystem that prizes profit but neglects purpose is not truly valuable.
Let this 60th anniversary not only remind us of where we’ve come from but also recommit us to what must be built. Not merely systems that survive, but ones that serve; not only structures that impress, but ones that endure.
As Ghana looks to the future, may we place legacy above convenience, systems over slogans, and vision above vanity. Because at the end of the day, currencies rise and fall; board tenures begin and end; elections are won and lost, but what remains is the institutional scaffolding we leave behind—the systems we build, the trust we earn, and the culture we shape.
The cedi, at 60, stands as both a celebration and a challenge. It celebrates how far we’ve come, but it challenges us to lead better—to think legacy, act ethically, build boldly.