‘ORDINARY’ CITIZENS: THE PUNCHING BAGS OF POLITICIANS

The erstwhile president of Ghana, His Excellence John Dramani Mahama has added his voice to the many the economic crisis currently plaguing Ghana. On his official Facebook page, the former President posted that the problems of Ghana seem to have no end, noting the recent downgrade by Standard and Poor’s, which puts the country’s economic future in jeopardy.

Mahama also argued that the recent mid-year budget review failed to restore the confidence of the Ghanaian population and investor community in our economy. Mahama added that the current government is clueless about governing Ghana and needs to consult the best brains in the country to deliberate on possible solutions.

Current Economic Woes Of Ghana

About two months ago, a tweet from a leading member of the ruling party, Gabby Otchere-Darko about the government seeking refuge from the International Monetary Fund to help salvage the economy sparked many speculations. However, the case was the government of the day sought help from the IMF.

Many of the economic woes of Ghana have been attributed to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War and the Covid-19 deadly pandemic. Inflation keeps on surging and the value of the Cedi keeps depreciating plaguing the purchasing power of Ghanaian importers and citizens. The prices of crude products have increased more than six times this year alone. The cost of transportation keeps on increasing and prices of foods and services are also on the rise.

The general public, government workers, and private individuals have expressed their anger in various forms. Amidst all these struggles, the unemployment rate especially among the youth keeps on increasing exponentially.

Citizens Are Pawns In The Hands Of Politicians

Often in my write-ups, I talk about how politicians manipulate citizens against each other. I had time to go and read the comment under the post of the former president and it was so disheartening. The argument had shifted from the woes of Ghana and possible remedy to it to what Mahama did best but President Akufo-Addo is worse at.

It will interest you to know that almost all the economic situations facing the country were present at the time of President Mahama’s administration. Instead of politicians providing remedies to unending economic situations in the country they often jab at each other making ruling political parties unpopular.

Citizens also join the political war forgetting that at the end of their administration they will end up with fat cheques where we the citizens are left with nothing but more economic woes.

The Way Forward

The post by former president Mahama is a way of political parties voicing out their grievances and it is a way of showing how strong our democracy is. But when the jabbing must stop and political parties should rather rally behind their opponent to help move the country forward. After all on the international front, the country is known as Ghana, not NDC or NPP.

While this paints a bleak picture, there are still possibilities for Ghana to turn things around. For example, the government could focus on creating more jobs and improving infrastructure.

One possible solution would also be to expand the use of renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind turbines, which would help lessen our dependence on fossil fuels from outside of Africa.

Additionally, the government can cut its expenditure and work on building up the country’s manufacturing and agriculture sectors. However, it will undoubtedly take time and effort to get the economy back on track.