Ghana in Focus: Election Special - WHY IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE!!

In this gripping episode of "Ghana in Focus," we delve deep into the complexities surrounding Ghana's political and economic landscape as the nation approaches its critical elections on December 7th. Under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo, Ghana has faced significant economic struggles that have dramatically affected the livelihoods of its citizens. This episode offers a comprehensive analysis of these challenges, inviting listeners to ponder the crucial decision voters face as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) contends with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

One of the central themes of the episode is the deteriorating economic conditions in Ghana, which have been characterized by a severe depreciation of the cedi and soaring inflation rates. Since 2017, the Ghanaian currency has plummeted from 4 cedis to 17 cedis per US dollar, severely impacting businesses and increasing the cost of imports. This economic downturn has led to a nationwide cost-of-living crisis, prompting many Ghanaians to seek better opportunities abroad, particularly in the UK. The episode challenges the NPP's economic management, highlighting the alarming GDP debt ratio, which has ballooned to over 100%.

Illegal small-scale mining, known locally as "galamsey," has devastated Ghana's environment, severely polluting water bodies and agricultural lands. The episode exposes the alleged involvement of top government officials in these activities, questioning their commitment to environmental preservation. The lack of up-to-date medical equipment coupled with the exodus of healthcare professionals, has further crippled Ghana's health system. The podcast critiques the National Health Insurance Scheme as inadequate, exacerbating the health crisis in the country.

The "free SHS" education policy, initially seen as a beacon of hope, is re-evaluated in the episode. Critics argue that the policy has become a financial burden on parents, suggesting a means-tested approach for equitable access. The episode highlights the disconnect between the government's promises and the reality on the ground, urging a re-evaluation of the current administration's effectiveness.

Listeners are encouraged to critically assess the current government's performance and for Ghanaians to ask themselves if they are better or worse off now than in 2017

The episode emphasizes the importance of informed voting, urging Ghanaians to look beyond political allegiances and focus on the pressing issues at stake.

In conclusion, this episode of "Ghana in Focus" provides an honest in-depth exploration and analysis of the tenure of the NPP and advise why IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE!! 

Chapters

• 0:04 Ghana Election Special Review
• 9:05 Ghana's Economic Crisis Under MPP
• 17:57 Corruption and Governance Failures in Ghana
• 32:47 Exciting Plans for Ghana's Future

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Welcome to this week's edition of Ghana in Focus. Myself Kwame, ghanaian broadcaster, writer, journalist, podcaster and entrepreneur. And in this week's edition of Ghana in Focus it's a special reviewing Ghana's election. So in the most time, ghana will be going to the polls, so we're having an election special looking at the Ghana election. So that's the theme for this week's podcast Ghana election special.

Speaker 1: 0:37

Before we get into the podcast, just to make you aware that if you like what you hear, please share it to your friends, your friends, family, social media networks. Please subscribe to Ghana Advocating Focus on YouTube. We currently have got about, I think, 10 subscribers on YouTube. We're going to get many, many more. So please subscribe to Ghana Advocating Focus on YouTube and hit the notification bell, meaning that every time I upload a new podcast, youtube will inform you of that. Also, you can also get Ghana Africa and focus on Spotify. Again. Look out for Ghana Africa and Spotify and click the follow button, meaning that every time I upload a new podcast on Spotify, spotify will notify you. So we're looking to try and get 800 followers by the end of the year. So far, we're in 535. So thank you to all those who are following me on Spotify.

Speaker 1: 1:37

All right, so let's get into this week's podcast election special proving the forthcoming election in Ghana. So, in the most time, december 7, ghana goes to a polls. For me, it will be a very critical election we say this every time, but this one is a definitely critical election because MPP, the current government, want to break V8. And the opposition, led by NDC, jamal Hamad, wants to come again for one more term and break V8 as well. And so it promises to be a very, very interesting election. But for me, I'm going to lay down why Guineans should vote out this current government. The MPP should not be returned to power.

Speaker 1: 2:33

And, like I said, I'm not MPP, I'm not MBC, I'm a Guinean, and we look at things from a critical eye, critical analysis, and when one does a critical analysis, over the last eight years, ghana has basically dived into oblivion. What do I mean by that? Well, the biggest. There are a few big issues on which the election is going to be decided upon, and one of those is the economy. That is, for me, the key, you know issue here at stake in this year's election and you know we've seen over the last eight years how a once thriving economy has basically just now dived into recession and you know in part of it. You know deflation as well, and that has created a massive cost of living crisis that is affecting every Ghanaian.

Speaker 1: 3:36

So, with the upper class Ghanaian, middle class, working class, lower class, every single person in Ghana has been affected by the cost of living crisis and the economy, even those of us who live in the diaspora. When you send money back home or you want to build a project, the money that you were sending three, four years ago can't do as much as it did, sorry. The money that you're sending today can't do as much as you did. Sorry. The money that you're sending today, right, can't do as much as you were sending three, four years ago, because the value of the local currency in the city has nosedived. In fact, just two years ago, in 2022, the Ghana city was the worst performing currency in the world not just in Africa, but the world, yeah, in 2022. And even this year, it's lost some 25% of its value.

Speaker 1: 4:29

Yeah, so the economy is in a very, very bad way and because of this economy and the high cost of living in Ghana, which has created a cost of living crisis, many Ghanaians have left the country in the last three years, and I see, here in the UK, there are many, many Ghanians. You know, in the big cities, whether it's in London, in Nottingham, in Leeds, in Manchester, in Birmingham, there are Ghanians everywhere and it wasn't like that three years ago, particularly in the town city that I'm in. Three years ago, there were not many Ghanaians in the city where I live, but now you can hear chi, you can hear ewe, you can hear ga, signifying that many, many Ghanaians have left Ghana in the last three years. In actual fact, I spoke to a couple of Ghanaians who sold their property. They sold their house in Ghana in order to come to the UK, because they feel that they'll get a much better quality of life in the UK than in Ghana. Now, that's debatable, but that's that person's opinion and that person is entitled to their opinion.

Speaker 1: 5:42

So you know and all this under an MPP government whose mantra was that we can manage the economy better than the NDC you know who they beat in the 2016 election. And so, when we look at even the economy because, like I said, the economy is going to be a main driver of who wins the economy, because, like I said, the economy is going to be a main driver of who wins the election and, like I said, this government that is sitting right now, mpp, should be voted out of power, because what Guyanese have gone through even the most ardent MPP fan right will have to bear witness to the fact that what Guyanese have been through the last eight years, particularly the last four years, have been catastrophic. Say, for example, look at the currency when this government came into power, 2017, january, the Guyanese city, local city, was 4 cents to a dollar, meaning that if you wanted to, you know, buy a thousand dollars, you would need, at a time, 4,000 Ghana cities, because it was four Ghana cities to a dollar. Today, and I'm speaking to you, november, the 4th, 2024, it is now 17 galaxies to a dollar, and so that same, you know, thousand dollars, yeah, that you that you needed today, in 2016 or 2017, january, that $1,000 would have cost you 4,000 Ghana cities. Today, that same $1,000, you need 17,000 Ghana cities, so you need four times more. Right In 2024, they did a mere seven, sorry, seven years ago, in January 2017. Showing you we're not even at the end of the eight years.

Speaker 1: 7:55

Showing you how bad the economy has gone under Akufo-Addo and Balmia's government and, as a fact, balmia is now the flag bearer for the MPP, the ruling party. However, it was under his watch because he was the head of the economic management team, or, as I call it, the economic mismanagement team. So Balmia was supposedly as a peer to the economics the economic mismanagement team. So Balmia is well, supposedly has appeared in economics. See, he was brought in by the MPP to spearhead Ghana's survival, or Ghana's economic rebound. So you know, this man has been responsible for the malaise in the Ghana's economy and this is the same man that wants to be president after being in charge of the economic mismanagement team for enough years, this same man who has stuck under a sane economy. You want people to vote for him To become president.

Speaker 1: 9:05

No, no, no, no, no. Guineans need to wake up. Yeah, because this government, like I said, has put Guineans through the worst, some of the worst Economic you know Outcomes in Guyanese history. So, apart from the low currency collapsing yeah, 17 cities to a dollar when it was four cities to a dollar when they came January 2017, that's made business difficult because, like I said, if you are a business person, back in 2017, you wanted even let's, for example, you know, 10,000 US dollars. You know you don't have to, you know, to do your you know import business. You wanted 10,000 US dollars 2017. That would only fetch you 40,000 gallons of this, 40,000 gallons of. But today, if you're a British person and you want to do $10,000 worth of shopping and bring goods into the country, that same 10,000 Ghana cities, say, 10,000 US dollars, is now 170,000 Ghana cities, showing you that, basically, the devaluation of Ghana's of currency in the last, particularly last three years, because the first four years it wasn't as bad. In actual fact, in 2022 January, it was about 7.5 cities to a dollar, so in about two years, it's more than doubled to 17 Ghana cities, showing you the chronic mismanagement of the Ghanaian currency by Akufo-Addo and the MPP government. Yeah, so that's one thing. Two, when this government was voted into power 2017, guidance interest rates was about 15% 15%. Today, yeah, it's now 35% to 40%, and this is the rates that businesses are being, you know, given loans to. How can a business survive with 40% interest rate? Hmm, so in the last three or four years, many businesses have collapsed. They either collapsed or they've left the country and, if you remember, I did a podcast about why many big businesses have left Ghana, and this was this year. Many big companies have left Ghana because of the high interest rates and the high cost of doing business in Ghana.

Speaker 1: 11:59

Again, you look at the price of food. Yeah, 2017, a cheap bowl of yam was 2 cedis. Today, that very same tuba of yam is 20 to 30 ganas cedis. Even some places it's even no, sorry, that's it 20 ganas cedis. That's even a lie. It is 60 ganas cedis for tuba. Right 2016, that was 2 cedis for tuba 20 Ghanaians. That's even a lie. It is 60 Ghanais for Tuba Right 2016, that was 2 cities for Tuba. Today, 2024, it's 60 to 70 Ghanaians for this. A bag of 5 kg rice 2017 was 10 Ghanaians for this. Today, it's more than 100 Gandhi cities. For the same 5 kg of rice In Ghana, you could get, you know, 2017, you could get four tomatoes for one Ghana city.

Speaker 1: 13:01

Now you can't get four tomatoes for one city. That's the long-running system. You have to buy 20 tomatoes. That's what they're giving you 20 tomatoes and that's for about 20 Ghana cities. So it shows you the inflation that is so high in Ghana now, making the cost of living unbearable for many Ghanaians.

Speaker 1: 13:24

So I don't want to go too much about the economy because I'll be here to you know next year, but this government, under the stewardship of Nana Ado, dankwa Kufu Ado and Dr Mahmood Alaji Baumea. They have destroyed the economy of Ghana. Even big businesses are crying out, let alone the small businesses, dr Klaus. Big businesses are crying out that they have left the country.

Speaker 1: 13:56

So how can you entrust Balmia with the economy of Ghana when, over the last seven to eight years, his stewardship or rather, his mismanagement of the economy, has created the situation that Ghanaians find themselves today and the GDP debt ratio of Ghana? When the NPP came into office in 2017, their debt to GDP ratio was 55% and they said that that was incompetent. That was. They can do better than that. And the national debt of Ghana stood at 120 billion Ghana citizens. Today, as I'm talking to you, november the 4th, ghana's debt stock is more than 700 billion Ghana cities, yeah, or at its peak 107% GDP debt ratio. According to the IMF and other ratings companies, by the end of the year, ghana's GDP debt ratio is going to be hovering about 75-80%. That is much, much higher than what they inherited in 2017, when it was 55%, and they said that was bad management and incompetence. And so just the economy alone that has created a dire economic crisis in Ghana. That's got nothing to do, like I said, with the Russia-Ukraine war or COVID, because back in 2019, when there was no COVID, no Russia-Ukraine war, the IMF and the Experian report warned Ghana that the levels of borrowing was too much and that if they didn't stop borrowing that much and spending that much, it could cause problems. Yeah, and we see where we are in Ghana today with the economy.

Speaker 1: 16:01

So that alone is why MPP should not be voted back into power. Because if Guyanians are that pretty naive and, so to say, dumb and stupid to bring back MPP back again for another four years, then, ghanians, you must just leave the country. Because, yes, they've done some roads, they've built some schools, they've built an odd chip compound, they've built an odd factory, but that is your right as a government to do that. If you don't do that, who's going to build a factory? But that is your right as a government to do that. If you don't do that, who's going to build a factory? Who's going to build a road? Who's going to build a chief compound? Who's going to build a school? It's your right as a government to do that. So, because they've done that, that doesn't mean that they've done well because, like I said, given the economics circumstances where Ghana found itself in, what the NPP have done is very, very minuscule compared to the damage that they've done to the economy of Ghana. Yeah, when we look at, like I said, the debt stock that Ghana has, the debt-GDP ratio, the high inflation, the high interest rates and also a collapsing currency, then this is just one reason alone why MPP should not be voted back. Again. We look at illegal, small-scale mining, can I say the President said that he would put his presidency on the line to stop small scale mining and in actual fact, it's got a lot worse over the last 8 years, which has created a genocide and ecocide right before our very eyes.

Speaker 1: 17:57

In one of the podcasts I've done recently, right talking about Ghanam, say small, illegal scale mining has destroyed 90% 80-90% of Ghana's water bodies and in some of these mining communities, like Western Region, asante Region, eastern Region, bono Region and Pond Central Region, the water Region, eastern Region, bonner Region and Ponson Central Region, the water and land has been destroyed, hooked, lined in a sinker, locked, stuck in a barrel. The water and land is polluted big time. People are drinking in those areas polluted water. People are eating poison. All the food that is in goodness areas is basically poison because the land has been decimated by mercury, by lead, by other metals, even though there was report by the us, uk, china and russia stating that that the food that has been exported out of Ghana contains high levels of toxins, high levels of metals like nickel, like mercury, like lead, like cyanide, because that is what's being used by the small-scale miners to extract the gold. And so illegal small-scale mining has worsened.

Speaker 1: 19:20

In Akufo-Addo Balmyas, present, you know tenor as president and vice president, yeah, and so again, there is another reason why this government must be voted out of power again. We even look at, you know, a document voted out of power Again. We even look at a document called the Ejapadia document, and that is a real document, and in that document it explains how this current government would actually destroy the banking sector, destroy the mining sector and also destroy some Ghanaian businessmen who it perceived were enemies. And as you've seen, you know, we look at the. You know, like I said, the gold, how they've destroyed the gold mining sector with this illegal small-scale mining. Because we have, you know, there is evidence to state that the very top of government is involved in small-scale mining because if it wasn't, then you think they would have stopped it by now. And the President said that he would put his presidency on the line to stop small-scale mining. And so if the President or the presidency were not involved in small-scale mining, then why is it that they can't stop it? Why? And we know there's many men, many so-called big men in quotes affiliated to the current government, who are also involved in small-scale mining. So that alone, their failure to tackle an environmental and genocidal activity, is another reason why this government must go.

Speaker 1: 21:07

Look at healthcare. Ghanians are suffering big time with their health. Diabetes, hypertension, kidney, liver disease, cancers are now all big killers in Ghana, let alone malaria, let alone, you know, other illnesses. But these illnesses have become prevalent in Ghana a lot, and Ghanians are dying because of lack of investment in the healthcare sector. Again, I did the podcast that many Ghanaian doctors and nurses have left Ghana over the last three to four years because of poor working conditions, poor remuneration and also, more importantly, poor infrastructure in hospitals. Yeah, and so these politicians don't care about the ordinary Guineans' healthcare. Because they've got diplomatic immunity, they can go to US, uk, canada, wherever, and get treatment for themselves, their family and their friends. But the ordinary Guineans cannot afford healthcare, and even the so-called why is it? The so-called national NHIS that doesn't cover many illnesses and that's been administrated very, very poorly. So even on health, this government should be voted out Again.

Speaker 1: 22:33

If you look at so-called free SHS and that's another con by this Akufo-Addo-Balmer government it is not free. In actual fact, parents are paying five times more than the government for their children's education. So this chumped up policy that was held by the government as a game changer, the USHS is not that, because today many parents in Ghana are paying more under the circle of free HSS when they were when it wasn't free. I'm going to say that again Parents today in Ghana are paying more under this so-called free HSS than they were when it wasn't free. So did you come or did you go? Yeah, so the government, right, is paying for nutrition fees and paying for, I think, books, right, but the parents still go by the uniform, go to provide food, because the quality of food the school food program, as I mentioned right, is disgraceful. You wouldn't give your dog food that has been served in a lot of these schools in Ghana. So parents got to fork out money for food for their children. Yeah, and also the schools. Some of the schools are dilapidated as well. So the whole free SSS mantra is a con, just that it's a con, and Ghanaians need to be aware that they've been taken for a ride under this three so-called free HSS, which is another reason why this government must be voted out. Don't get me wrong free HSS is a good idea, but, a it's not free because you're paying for it via taxes anyway. B you're paying for it, as you know, as a service and, more importantly, c it needs to be means tested so that rich people do not, you know, pay for the full share. And poor people, working class people in Ghana ie taxi driver, teacher, nurse, truck driver who take a very big salary, their children should have 100% free. So, again, this is another reason why this government should be voted out, because they have conned Ghanaians. They have been disintroduced to Ghanaians by this so-called free HSS. My last assertion as to why Ghanaians should vote this government out of power Look at agriculture.

Speaker 1: 25:24

Ghana cannot feed itself. Ghana is importing food from everywhere, even its own staple food, like yam, like cocoa yam, like plantain, like millet. Ghana is importing it and yet this government said they had a planting for food and drugs policy that would enable Ghanaian farmers to grow more food. So this scheme apparently has been going on for 7-8 years, so you would have thought by now it would yield food. So if this plant and food and job was a policy, was a great policy, why is Ghana importing more food than it was seven years ago? Ghana imports $5 billion worth of rice a year. Just that alone, that $5 billion. If we put that into our farmers, you don't think we'd be better off. Hmm, so what happened to all the promises of planting food and jobs in the agriculture? Blah, blah, blah Hasn't materialised. Yeah, showing you that Ghana, or Ghanaians, have been taken for a ride by this government in terms of agriculture.

Speaker 1: 26:43

And again, we look at the mass corruption under this government, the millions upon millions of US dollars that the government has stolen. Right, it's unbelievable. Even one of their own MPs, you know to see it that way was caught. Or rather, her maid stole one million dollars from her house and within the investigation, it was found that Mr Dapa also had more than 300,000 euros and more than 48 million gallons in his stash in the house. Hmm, if that's not corruption, I don't know what is corruption. And, aside from that, we've seen corruption in all parts of the government yeah, when it comes to taking loans, when it comes to awarding contracts, when it comes to, you know, uh, business divestiture. When it comes to, you know, business divestiture when it comes to presentation of businesses in Ghana. Right, we know that there's been massive corruption involved in that. And this is a government that came to power saying that we will fight corruption. So, even on corruption, they failed the people of Ghana.

Speaker 1: 27:58

And so, ghanaiansans, look at your quality of life now to when these people came to power, seven and a half, eight years well, more or less eight years ago. Can you put your honestly, put your hand on your heart, saying that you are better off today than you were seven years ago? I don't think so. I don't think so based on what I've said in the last, you know, half an hour, 40 minutes. Ghanaians are worse off today, much, much worse off today than they were January 2017, when the government came into power.

Speaker 1: 28:32

And so, you know, ghanaians, vote wisely. Don't vote with your stomach. Don't let these you know MPP positions trick you with Fanta. Vote wisely. Don't vote with your stomach. Don't let these you know MPP politicians trick you with Fanta or phone credit or Thousand Guinesses, because if you accept that you are selling your birthright, people in Ghana died for the vote. So if you allow these politicians to give you Thousand Guinesses creator of Fanta, creator of Guinness and you vote for them, right, you are selling your birthright for cheaply and the politicians then give a damn about you. And so you know.

Speaker 1: 29:14

I believe that Ghana strongly believe that Ghana should vote out MPP and vote for a new government, whether it's NDC, whether it's Nana Kwame, bia Daka Unceda, who's got some great ideas, whether it's Alan Chaman Singh's Butterfly Movement for Change, whether it's Kofi Abahou, whatever, even if there's a coalition. But what must happen is that come December, the 8th MPP must be voted out of power because they've put Ghanaians through the sword in the last 8 years and they've caused Ghanaians a lot of suffering, even Domsa. They said that Domsa, or power outage, will be a thing of the past. Today, as I'm talking to you right now, one of the main power providers in ghana, the asoka independent power company, is owed more than 200 million dollars by the government of ghana and they are threatening of Ghana and they are threatening to pull their plant off, turn it off if government does not pay them that money because they think that the government has been very, very insincere with them during the negotiations. So Dumso is back in Ghana, because in the last few weeks there's been Dumso, a lot of power outages in Ghana, and if you don't watch out, whoever wins the next election, you know Dumso could be a reality that Ghanaians would have to put up with, and so, for me, whoever wins has got a massive job in their hands. Why? Because you've got the economy in a bad way. We've also got the afterlay of the debt exchange programme that is again going to hit Guineans up until 2036. That's another thing that is not being told to Guineans. This domestic debt exchange programme where Guineans have to restructure their debt, did it end this year or last year? It's going to affect Guineans for the next 10 years at least 10 years, and, like I said, the government bonds has been affected and also people's pensions is going to be raided. This again is why you must vote this current government MPP out of power. So that concludes my election special on Ghana, when Ghana gets to the polls in a month's time, and we hope that Ghanaians vote wisely and vote for the best party that can alleviate them from the suffering and constant inquest that they're in.

Speaker 1: 31:58

So thank you for listening to this special edition of Ghana In Focus with myself, kwame, and from the crew here on Ghana In Focus. Thank you very much for listening and we've got some great programming coming up over the next few weeks. We'll be looking at diaspora conversations, speaking to Africans from the diaspora who have come to Ghana, make Ghana their home. We're also looking at our producers in Ghana. We'll be giving you a taste of that because I'm going to do a lot of that next year and also next year we're going to start a new series looking about men, you know, looking at men's issues, so things like prostate cancer, why men cheat, you know, things that you know are sort of male oriented. So look out for that.

Speaker 1: 32:47

In Ghana, africa in focus in 2025. We definitely got a lot to offer you next year, so now I can't wait to share that with you. But there's a lot of, you know, new things in the pipeline for 2025, but for now, thank you for listening of new things in the pipeline for 2025. But for now, thank you for listening and we'll see you next week for some more Ghana Africa in Focus.