The year 2022 has been one roller coaster, with several events (some good, some bad, and some very ugly) ramming into Ghanaians like no man’s business. Well, at least we can be grateful that there was no lockdown this year and that the world did not end. Guess what that means? … an opportunity to do and be more. Stick around while I take you on that roller coaster called 2022 and give you a snapshot of the year.
The Year Started With A Blast…Literally
News of a significant blast that happened in a location in Apeate Community, close to the city of Bogoso, around 300 kilometers (180 miles) west of Ghana’s capital, Accra, greeted us in January. 3,300 individuals were affected by the explosion overall, and 17 people died as a result. Additionally, 59 persons were hurt. According to reports from the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), the explosions destroyed 500 buildings and left 1,500 people without a place to live. Major routes in the region were cut off by the explosion, leaving many commuters stuck.
Like that was not enough disaster in January, the inflation for that month turned out to be a whopping 13.9%, representing a 2.1% increase from December the previous year. Little did we know that that was only the beginning.
There have been several demonstrations in this year over many reasons ranging from teachers’ salaries to a very bad economic state. Many people also got injured as a result because, maybe for some reason, Ghanaians hear only the “demonstration” in “peaceful demonstration”. And of course, as typical of Ghanaians, we blamed the police for brutalizing us. I wonder how the policemen were feeling in their homes when they heard journalists report very biased accounts of what happened. Well, nobody said anything about the citizens being the police’s friend… lol
When Fuel Prices Didn’t Want To Step On The Brakes
The Russia-Ukraine war together with COVID-19 dealt a deadly blow to many countries, Ghana being one of them. Inflation shot so high and it came along with a sharp increase in the price of commodities as well. Drivers probably suffered the most because they had to wake up to new and ‘improved’ fuel prices almost every day. They complained and complained…some also vented out their frustrations on their passengers with some drivers beating up some of them and even killing one, according to a news report.
Gorb3 And Kenkey Sellers Decided To Show Us Pepper
The fuel price hike caused the cost of transportation to also increase, which for some reason, caused an increase in the price of food. ‘Gorb3’ and kenkey shocked Ghanaians the most as those foods can easily be the favourite and most popular dishes in Ghana. Ghanaians had to now spend more to get enough of their favourite foods. Kenkey no longer sold for Ghc2. In some neighbourhoods, the starting price was Ghc5 for one ball of kenkey.
Also, you see that inflation that was 13.9% in January? Yeah, that one. It rose all the way into the 40s by November. In a way, I don’t blame the gorb3 and kenkey sellers.
When The Cedi Got Murdered
With rising inflation came a depreciation of the cedi. In some parts of this year, the Ghana cedi was adjudged the worst-performing currency against the dollar. Things were tough, and guess who even had it tougher? … the president, his vice president, and the finance minister. There were several calls to sack him—so many that even the majority members of parliament were on the same page with the minority on this issue. I guess they were all feeling the heat. The cedi fell so steeply that at one point, a dollar was over GHC 15. That was hell. Of course, the president gave us several assurances and implored us to keep believing in his government.
The government went to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan after it promised us it wouldn’t go to the IMF. Several credit rating agencies, such as Moody’s, S&P, Fitch, and so on, downgraded Ghana’s credit ratings several times this year, resulting in very low investor confidence in the economy.
How Could We Go Without Talking About The National Cathedral?
Despite being rammed back to back by harsh external and internal forces, resulting in a very uncomfortable standard of living in Ghana, the president, for some reason, thought it okay to build a national cathedral so that we could cry to God in it for Him to show us mercy. No offence, but I think that was just preposterous. Well, at least, we were told it would boost tourism so…
Huge amounts of money were thrown at this future monument and it begged the question, “Are we jokes to you, Mr. President?” How the government could focus attention on building a cathedral when our credit rating were down on both knees with many citizens refusing to be spectators and actually demanding good governance was something I could not understand. At least an Ghc80 million budget estimate was rejected by the minority… kudos to that.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not in nay way against the construction of a cathedral. Afer all, it will boost our tourism. My concern is the timing… You don’t build a cathedral when fuel prices is over Ghc20 with the Cedi falling as low as Ghc15 to a dollar. That is just not right.
Uruguay Beat Ghana Again, But There’s More…
We cannot talk about the year 2022 without taking a look at the World Cup in Qatar. Oh my! That event was really overdone, thanks to the more than $200 billion that was pumped into it. Ghana was set to meet Uruguay (again) after that devastating penalty shootout defeat in the 2010 World Cup that prevented Ghana from being the first African country to get to the semi-finals of the World Cup. And as you all know, Suarez ended up becoming the hero of that game (at least for the Uruguayans) that day.
It was all-out revenge (even though the players would not admit it) when Ghana was set to meet Uruguay again. Many songs were made about it; even billboards were made to convey the anger and vengeance Ghana was entering that game with. So, to summarize, Dede Ayew missed a penalty, and Ghana lost (again). So this is a summary of what happened: Uruguay beat Ghana in 2010, and we felt that their win was a result of foul play (which I agree with, by the way), so Ghana went home, trained, got stronger, and got better for a whole 12 years (by the way, 12 years is what you need for your child to move from Primary 1 to SHS 3). Ghana trained for 12 years only to be defeated by Uruguay (again). What a pity that was!
Well, at least we got our revenge, thanks to South Korea. South Korea’s win over Portugal made sure that Ghana went home with Uruguay, and oh boy! That was some sweet vengeance. Suarez (the man who was a part-time goalkeeper in our 2010 World Cup match with Uruguay) cried, and that was enough vengeance for many Ghanaians.
The Cedi Gained Some Strength Against The Dollar
From being the world’s worst-performing currency at a point in 2022 to becoming the world’s best-performing currency, the Ghana cedi gained some value in the face of the US dollar. A dollar traded for GHC8 at one point this year, a significant improvement from GHC15 earlier in the year.
Fuel prices were also reduced, and with that, the cost of transportation. That also resulted in a few fights because some commercial drivers were hesitant to lower their fares and very “book-long” passengers didn’t want to understand… Well, punches flew in all directions (just to give a summary of what happened).
But do you know what was most surprising? Our own market women and retail shop owners. These people, when the dollar rose so high would swear to earth and Heaven that the dollar was impacting the cost of their goods. Even plantain and yam sellers who plant the crops on their own farms hiked their prices and blamed the dollar.
But when the dollar slumped and the cedi gained strength, everyone pretended not to have heard the news, and if you (as a buyer) just so little as question (even jovially) why their prices were still high despite the cedi’s strength, they would tell you that the goods they have in stock are the ones they bought when the dollar was up there. Ayekoo!
It Turned Out Ghanaians Were Not As Broke As They Said
December came and people wondered where all the Christmas fever had gone to. You couldn’t even hear Christmas songs and it appears that GTV also didn’t show Home Alone (maybe I’m wrong, but I didn’t see it). Growing up, that was the evidence that Christmas had arrived: Home Alone on GTV.
In the middle of the month getting to the end, several concerts were hosted in Accra and guess what? These same Ghanaians who had been complaining from January that times were hard filled these concerts and events to full capacity. I mean, they bought tickets like no man’s business. I thought we all agreed that we didn’t have money. What happened? Ei Ghanafo) lol.
- Joy FM Party in the Park – SOLD OUT
- Bhim Concert – SOLD OUT
- Shatta Wale – FILLED STADIUM
- Cituation – SOLD OUT
- SaminiXperience – SOLD OUT
- Rapperholic – SOLD OUT
I thought we agreed we were suffering together. Hahaha. But maybe a lot of people actually went to these events because they had been battered left to right by the harsh economy and its signature roller coaster motion so much that they had to let off some steam. Yeah, that makes sense.
And Oh COVID Has Risen Again In China
I hope we all remember COVID-19. Yep, that’s what caused the lockdown and apparently 50% of our economic woes as a country. Not that I disagree; I’m just stating the ‘obvious’. Guess what? It’s back again (I don’t know if it even went away anyway) in China, where it all started the first time.
Shall we brace ourselves for impact or maybe wait and see if it will come to Ghana like we did the last time? Whatever the choice is, I think it has been eventful in all manner of the word this year in Ghana. We have cried, we have laughed and we have loved. A moment of silence for those whose hearts were broken, for those who lost loved ones and also for those whose SIM cards got blocked because they didn’t want to re-register them.
…and just like that, this is the end of 2022. We pray that 2023 brings us goodness and joy.
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