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Unfavourable global economic outlook
President Akuffo-Addo discussing the globsl economic situation with IMF boss Kristalina Georgieva with IMF boss
The world today faces a daunting economic challenge that is threatening the welfare of its citizens in different parts of the globe, irrespective of whether they find themselves in developing or developed countries.
It is, therefore, difficult for all countries to manage their resources in the way they had envisaged prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19. This unfortunate situation implies that everyone on this earth will have to collaborate with their respective governments to work hard towards finding appropriate solutions to the difficulties or challenges they are facing.
NEGATIVE POLITICS
This development is very unfortunate, but it goes to show that negative politics such as found in developing countries like Ghana must be done away with if we are to survive in these turbulent times that call for unity, togetherness, purposefulness, and a desire to achieve our national goal and development.
The purpose of politics in every country is to influence voters to vote for people who wish to come to power. Not every political group can be voted into power. For this reason, lies are often heard from certain politicians who see winning political power as a do-or-die affair.
DISCERNING ELECTORATE
This is why the electorate, particularly those in developing countries like Ghana, must be very careful about some of the messages given to them by political opponents who wish to come to power.
It is not wrong for any political party to fight and come to power. However, this should not be based on atrocious lies. Such are negative and should be pushed aside by all progressive and decent-minded people and observers.
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Even developed countries like the UK, Canada, Japan, Germany, are all suffering from the global economic problem, which has been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The UK Daily Mail of January 25, 2023, reported that there was no need to despair because the economic situation is global. UK citizens have, therefore, been urged to support the government in these difficult times rather than run down the country. This piece of advice should go to all countries, not just the UK. It is hoped that politicians in Ghana, especially the Minority, are listening to this advice.
The debt of the UK to its Gross Domestic Product in 2022 moved from 87 per cent to its current 99.5 per cent. The world, not only Ghana, is therefore facing serious economic crises.
HARSH ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
The harsh economic conditions affect all countries. In spite of this, less noise is heard in the UK, Canada, the US, Germany, and other countries, even though they are all suffering. There is no cheap politics going on in such countries; these countries are rather fighting hard to restore economic normalcy in their areas.
The world, no doubt, is facing serious challenges that must be overcome, whether we like it or not. This is the plain truth, and we need to receive it as such.
MULTIPLE CRISES
According to one UN report, multiple crises are being unleashed on the world. The world today is experiencing its lowest economic output in recent decades.
In fact, the global growth forecast will slow down to 1.9 per cent in 2023, according to UN economists.
NEGATIVE TENDENCIES
If this is the case, then what does the Minority in Ghana seek to achieve by what they attempt to do?
The economy should be on their agenda, but the negative tendencies they seek to mount are all false because Ghana is part of the global economic system.
There is no doubt that the global economy will face serious difficulties this year. As we speak, the U.S. and Japan have their debts mounting, and this is seriously affecting their economic growth. What is saving these countries is that they are all strong manufacturers of products that are exported to other parts of the world.
INDUSTRIALISATION DRIVE
For this reason, Ghana must also learn from this and embark on a serious industrialisation drive. This is what the country needs. The effort by the government, therefore, to promote One District, One Factory (1D1F) needs the support of all Ghanaians.
The global economic outlook may be less severe if countries work hard to confront the challenges ahead. This is why the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that, in spite of the challenges, the global outlook may be slightly better than what is expected.
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BY DR. KOFI AMPONSAH- BEDIAKO
One of the issues we have been grappling with as a nation is corruption, and it has had such a devastating effect on our national development. I have been convinced that until morality becomes the foundation upon which our governance system is built, we can never go forward as a nation.
Our traditional practices, which have shaped our cultural beliefs, have always espoused values that have kept us along the straight and the narrow and have preserved our societies since ancient times.
These are values that frown on negative habits like stealing, cheating, greediness, selfishness, etc. Our grandparents have told us stories of societies where stealing was regarded as so shameful that offenders, when caught, have on a number of instances committed suicide.
In fact, my mother told me of a story where a man who was living in the same village as her mother (my grandmother), after having been caught stealing a neighbour’s cockerel, out of shame committed suicide on a mango tree. Those were the days that shameful acts were an abomination.
Tegare worship, a traditional spiritual worship during which the spirit possesses the Tegare Priest and begins to reveal secrets, was one of the means by which the society upheld African values in the days of my grandmother and the early childhood days of my mother.
Those were the days when the fear of being killed by Tegare prevented people from engaging in anti-social vices. These days, people sleeping with other people’s wives are not uncommon.
These wrongful behaviour was not countenanced at all by Tegare. One was likely going to lose his life on days that Tegare operates, and so unhealthy habits like coveting your neighbour’s wife was a taboo.
Stealing of other people’s farm produce, for instance, could mean certain death or incapacitation of the whole or part of the body in the full glare of everybody. People realised that there were consequences for wrongdoing, and this went a long way to motivate the society to adhere to right values.
Imagine a President being sworn into office and whoever administers the oath says, “Please say this after me: I, Mr. …., do solemnly swear by God, the spirits of my ancestors and the spirits ruling in Ghana, that should I engage in corrupt acts, may I and my family become crippled, may madness become entrenched in my family, may incurable sicknesses and diseases be my portion and that of my family, both immediate and extended.”
Can you imagine a situation where a few weeks afterwards the President goes to engage in corrupt acts and we hear of his sudden demise or incapacitation and confessing that he engaged in corrupt acts before passing or before the incapacitation—and the effect it will have on his successor? I believe we have to critically examine this option to curb corruption.
My grandmother gave me an eyewitness account of one such encounter where a woman died instantly after the Tegare Priest had revealed a wrong attitude she had displayed during the performance on one of the days scheduled for Tegare spirit manifestation.
According to her story, the Priest, after he had been possessed by the spirit, declared that for what the woman had done, he would not forgive her and that he would kill. Instantly, according to my grandmother, the lady fell down suddenly and she died—just like what happened to Ananias and his wife Sapphira in Acts Chapter 5.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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