There have been calls by a section of Ghanaians on the Akufo-Addo administration to fix the country. They argue that things have gone from bad to worse and, therefore, the administration should fix the system. Much as there is the temptation to join in on such a bandwagon (to ask for systems in the country to be fixed) we should equally bear in mind the context of this laudable campaign to make Ghana better. In fact the Akufo-Addo administration was elected by Ghanaians to fix the country which is exactly what the administration has been doing since 7th January, 2017. But let us for a moment remind ourselves of where the administration took over from:
Ghana’s economic well-being was in the doldrums when the Akufo-Addo-led administration took over in 2017.
Inflation had hit the rooftop, as it was at a staggering figure of 17.6%, growth rate was hovering around 3.45%.
The country’s debt to GDP was not any better. The banking sector was in comatose as poor management practices and lack of proper monitoring sent the sector aground.
Every facet of the economy was in dire straits. Industries were down on their knees. Mr. Mahama’s dumsor crippled the economy. Youth unemployment was extremely high. There was despondency amongst the youth when the Mahama administration was in power.
However with the coming into office of President Akufo-Addo the storyline changed as a breath of new life was clearly noticeable in the economy.
Parents who hitherto found it difficult to take care of their wards beyond the junior high school level due to the extreme hardships brought upon them by the then administration were able to see beyond their financial hardships.
With the introduction of the Free Senior High School for all Ghanaian children a cornerstone policy to enhance education while making it accessible to all, parents have been thrown a lifeline in a key responsibility towards their wards, thanks to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration.
A major industrialization drive was rolled out through the 1D1F programme. Several companies and industries have been set up which are contributing to the growth of the economy while others are at various stages of completion.
Schools are being constructed whilst others are being expanded. Roads are being constructed across the country. These are no mean achievements. The delivery tracker of the party prior to the 2020 elections gives ample details about the unprecedented amount of infrastructural projects that had have been embarked upon.
The Pokuase Interchange is a masterpiece of road construction which can only be bested by a similar one in South Africa, and this was done with finesse as the original cost was beaten down and to give us much value for our money. All these have been made possible as a result of the sound leadership being provided by His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.
The economy was growing at 7% before COVID-19 hit us. Ghana’s debt to GDP was 63.9% at the end of 2019. But in 2020, due to COVID-19, it shot up to 78.1%. An economy that was growing averagely at 7% got down to 0.9%. Inflation in 2019 was 7.14%. This was as a result of the deadly coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Every country across the world is on its knees. Even the kahunas in the world like the US, Canada, China, Germany, UK, Italy, South Korea etc have been seriously affected by COVID-19.
In the face of these unavoidable threats and challenges, Ghanaians did not go hungry when COVID came into the country. The government found money to even feed vulnerable Ghanaians. PPEs were produced and locally on a mass scale, frontline workers were incentivized to take care of the infected persons, a whole architecture of strategies was put up to protect Ghanaians from contracting the virus.
Ghana’s current inflation figure is 8.5% at the end of April, 2021, even in the era of COVID-19. The Development Bank of Ghana is being set up to help inject steam into the business sector.
Our growth rate is expected to be around 5% at the end of 2021 and this is deemed to be one of the highest in the whole world. All these confirm that the economy is being fixed by President Akufo-Addo.
Much as the call to fix the country is not out of place, there is enough evidence to show that it is being fixed.
One cannot gloss over the fact that the FixTheCountry campaign is politically motivated since these campaigners have ignored the stark realities of the devastating effects of COVID-19 on every economy including that of Ghana.
There is the need to continue fixing the country but it must be a shared responsibility. It is only when we all, citizens and not spectators or distractors, do well to contribute our quota to the development of the economy that we can see the system finally fixed. We all have roles to play in fixing the country, it is not the sole responsibility of the government to do so.
Let us all bring our shoulders to the wheel to support the government in doing what it has been championing – fixing the economy and systems rather than engaging in clearly deceptive partisan campaigns and cheap propaganda.
Source: flyfmghana.com/Kwabena Frimpong
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