Ghana’s Path Forward: Emulating Kenya’s Decisive Actions

Dear Ghana, watch this very short video. Younger Kenyans aged between 27 and 15 have shown how fast decades-old reforms can be realised within weeks, of course without the high-handedness of the executive presidency and its brutalising police force.

Dear Ghana, all ages inclusive, please, the very things Kenyan President commits to publicly are the same we have been begging governments to do, but our plea have fallen on deaf ears and stone-cold hearts.

Austerity measures announced by Kenyan president Ruto on July 5th include, asking parliament for spending cuts totaling 177 billion shillings ($1.39 billion) for the fiscal year that began this month, the dissolution of 47 state corporations, a 50% reduction in the number of government advisers, the suspension of non-essential travel by public office bearers and the removal of budget lines for the president and deputy president’s spouses.

Remember, Kenya’s budget deficit is now projected at 4.6% of gross domestic product in the 2024/25 financial year, up from an earlier estimate of 3.3%. Inflation is 4.6 % and lending rates average 18%, spends a third of its GDP on servicing debts and guess what Covid-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine did not shield Kenyans neither did Kenya get GHS 33bn in free money as Ghana received.

Ghana’s inflation hovered between 54% in 2023 and 25% about now. Lending rates are averaged 35%. Government borrowed us into a debt iceberg, with almost 100% of our debts to GDP at one point, whose extended and pained treatment thawed our savings in wicked and ugly financial haircuts we were promised by our president wouldn’t happen.

And yet our woes are four times those of Kenyans with a litany of taxes and levies suffocating the citizenry while we continue to fund a very very large government with many state agencies feeding fat on our back breaking slavery.

Highway graft and outright theft of resources through skullduggery procurement scams especially with that useless Ministry for Special Initiatives (that for instance built uncountable GHS 15000 averagely priced dugouts and billed us GHS 230,000 for each) multimillion dollar SML heist, KelniGVG $176m and the EC’s waste of nearly $150M on biometric voter equipment, just to name a few). A few years ago, 85% of all procured contracts did not go through the electronic GIFMIS system we all committed to. A special covid-19 audit revealed that only 25% of all covid funds received were allocated to covid-19 related expenses.

VIDEO CREDIT: TRT AFRiKA
Do you want us to continue living this way?
Recently, the majority leader in Parliament, Hon. Alexander Hon.Alexander kwamena Afenyo-Markin cautioned both politicians and the citizenry when he said “Throughout history, frustrations and disillusionment among the masses, including the youth, have led to significant social and political unrest. The recent Gen Z activism in Kenya serves as a stark warning. To prevent such scenarios in Ghana, it is imperative that the political class collaboratively take proactive and comprehensive measures to address the underlying causes of public discontent. Our preoccupation with political manoeuvring should not blind us to the reality of public expectations.”

So, there you are, and I have two sets of tasks for you today.

The first one -Please come up with your own list of demands, convince others, friends, relatives, young men and women, students of all ages to list the things they do not want to see again from now onwards and engage their local representatives, MPs, and especially all aspiring presidential candidates in this election. You can post them on your social media handles. It is the least you can do.

The second set of tasks for all of us- Please do an introspection and list all the bad behaviour you put up at work, against your fellow employees and employer- the theft, the collusion to destroy, the backbiting, the slander, the neglect and mistreatment of public works and funds, and the many ones only you know in your heart are nation wrecking. Commit to doing them no more, and may your God or whatever gives you inspiration and reverence guide you”.

By: Franklin Cudjoe