<<Print>>There is no doubt, Ghana is arguably one of the most peaceful, stable and hospitable countries in the West African Subregion; earning the respect of many.
As expected, this feat makes one proud to be Ghanaian - including those in the diaspora who may intermittently nurse some nostalgia for the country.
But in his article, ‘Spotlight On Ghana For The Wrong Reasons’’, my colleague Emmanuel Mensah observed: “Ghana, the Land of Gold, once called the Gold Coast and the Hope of Africa, blessed with many natural resources like cocoa, oil, timber, fertile land and sunshine, is today talked about in the international media for all the wrong reasons…”
So I ask: Does the feeling of being proudly Ghanaian still exist considering what’s been on the news both locally and internationally?
For me, the answer is an emphatic “No” and I will go on to say it currently sucks to be Ghanaian. Here are six reasons I personally think so…
1.Inept Governance & Leadership Take Centre Stage
Many countries in the world occasionally go through challenges but citizens remain hopeful if there is strong leadership that is efficient and competent to quickly solve problems or prevent it from getting worse. Currently, Ghana lacks such leadership.
Apart from the fact that a lot of the problems are caused by poor governance, the Government of Ghana seems lost on how or where to begin solving them.
When Ghana’s economic situation went horrible within the first eight months of 2014 and it was obvious the economy was in crises, the Government said the country was going through a few temporary challenges.
Ghana’s currency, the GH Cedi, was the worst performing currency in the world. The exchange rate was almost 4 cedis to the US dollar and 5.5 cedis to the British Pound.
Stock of public debt went up, inflation was high, dumsor dumsor (erratic power supply) was and still is the norm, and fuel prices kept increasing.
Labour agitations and demonstrations followed – in response to the harsh economic conditions in the country. But the immediate response to the protests was the usual government response: to list what it intended to do, followed by promises, promises and more promises.
In the face of the glaring economic meltdown, the Government also needed to do its Public Relations work better. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hannah Tetteh, did her bit by tweeting sarcastic remarks about participants of the #OccupyFlagstaffHouse protest which backfired. Followers on social media did not take kindly to her comments and tweeted back in kind or worse.
Though Government failed to admit the country was going through economic crisis, it ironically turned to International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout – which Ghanaians were told was just technical assistance.
The Cocoa Syndicated Loan Agreement from the EU along with the so-called IMF ‘technical assistance’ has , arguably, stabilized the Cedi for a short time though many Ghanaians say they are yet to feel the real impact of such a move.
Economists have predicted a return of the horrible economic situation experienced last year, but Government has refuted such claims. Such predictions have begun to manifest.
Ghana’s Daily Graphic has reported the Cedi is losing ground against major currencies. Just last week, it lost 0.27 per cent against the greenback with traders on the interbank market quoting an average rate of GH¢3.22 for the dollar. Aside this, utility prices keep increasing while the unending erratic power supply continues to negatively affect industries as well as domestic users.
2.The General’s Ladies’ Coat
General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, was photographed wearing his wife’s camel-coloured, fur-trimmed winter coat during an official visit to Germany.
His faux pas received heavy criticisms and ridicule by sections of Ghanaians, especially social media users.
He did his best to nullify such mockery with his usual humour antics: "When we embark on a state visit... we are going to use our brains to help the country, not to showcase our attire at fashion show…I can hit my chest and say that I'm the only political party executive to chart a new fashion trend."
For many Ghanaians, the jokes didn’t work this time around as the deep -seated consequences of his actions go beyond such wit. Seriously, it says a whole lot about leadership in the country. In particular, it shows the Government of Ghana does not respect an essential element of international protocol – appropriate attire.
Beyond that, the hard question is: didn’t his associates - including the President, Foreign and Affairs Minister, Hannah Tetteh and other government officials - realize his mistake?
Well, the BBC saw the need to give the fashion disaster a befitting coverage. I’m sure many Ghanaians would have loved to vanish off the face of the earth from all the embarassment when they read the article.
3.‘Dumsor Dumsor’ (Erratic Power Supply)
The entire drama around the ‘dumsor dumsor’ situation makes me sick. The drop in water level of the Akosombo Dam, we were told, necessitated load shedding.
Then came , from the Electricity Company of Ghana, an unreliable time-table for the load-shedding exercise.
Characteristically, President John Dramani Mahama kept making vague and unreliable promises about ending the power outages as gas was expected to flow from Nigeria through the West African Gas Pipeline Project to power some thermal plants in the country and boost electricity supply.
Later, it turned out the gas wasn’t coming anytime soon. But Government needed a scapegoat so the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana, Rev. Ing. William Hutton-Mensah was sacked. As if Rev. Hutton-Mensah was the generator of electricity in the country, the reason for his dismissal was simply out of place: ”The decision comes in the wake of an intense load shedding exercise across the country which has left households, companies go off several days without electricity”.
The ‘intense’ load-shedding exercise continued and the Government needed another plan so it established another ministry; Ministry of Power, to focus solely on power. Our government also promised citizens that Ghana Gas Company would boost electricity supply by tapping some natural gas from the Jubilee Oil and Gas Fields to power thermal plants in Aboadze.
There are simply too many stories and no one knows what to believe. This is a nightmare! What is becoming of this country?
4.The Brazil Fiasco And Matters Arising…
Ghana’s participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil really dealt a serious blow to the image of the country. I wish we never participated in that competition, given the Black Stars’ pathetic and shambolic show at the Mundial.
Think of the Black Stars’ early elimination from the competition and then the endless commotion between players and the technical team.
The kicking out of Sulley Ali Muntari and Kevin Prince Boateng from the team’s camp for indiscipline before the Black Stars’ exit from the competition is fresh on the minds of many Ghanaian football fans.
The airlifting of US$3 million in cash to pay each player’s appearance fee of US$100,000 to prevent a possible boycott of the competition by the players was beyond disgraceful. It showed the poor leadership skills by both the Black Stars management team and the inefficient Government of Ghana.
Given that drama plus Ghana’s economic woes, didn’t it make perfect sense for the 200 Ghanaian football fans who flew to Brazil to seek asylum there?
Beyond the Western media headlining these disgraceful acts in their reports, Hollywood is hoping to cash in on the fiasco as well. Possibly starring World Wrestling Entertainment Superstar Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson, the movie seeks to satirize Ghana Government’s decision to airlift 3 million dollars to the players in Brazil.
I don’t even want to talk about what happened at the Commission set up by Ghana Government, and led by Justice Senyo Dzamefe, to investigate the brouhaha surrounding Ghana’s participation in the World Cup. reflections on the ‘crocodile tears’ shed before the Dzamefe Commission make me sick!
5.Nayele Ametefeh’s Cocaine Saga And Matters Arising…
It’s not only the peddling of such high grade cocaine through the VVIP lounge at Kotoka International Airport that makes me sick, but how Ghanaian politicians made fools of themselves by politicising the drug menace in the country.
They overlooked the fact that it is a national issue, which requires national attention - given its consequence on the image of Ghana in international circles.
It was uncalled for, for the opposition New Patrotic Party (N.P.P), to politicise the cocaine saga; and the press conference orgainzed by the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (N.D.C) to tag the N.P.P with drug peddling in the country was equally necessary.
6.Ghana’s ‘Chinese Parliament ‘.
This scenario couldn’t have been put better by Rodney Nkrumah-Boateng, one of Ghana’s respectable writers: “ And so it came to pass that President Mahama went to Parliament to deliver the State of the Nation Address earlier this year and urged us all to patronize ‘Made in Ghana’ goods… It would appear that the leadership of Parliament had earplugs in their ears and rolled their eyes like bored prima donnas as the President delivered his speech; because when it came to refurbishing the chamber of parliament, the leadership decided, in their collective wisdom, to head to China for the furniture…’’
Ghana, indeed, has a long way to go!