By Steven Boadi

The Economic Recovery Programme (ERP), Programme of Action to Mitigate the Social Cost of Adjustment (PAMSCAD), Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), Re-deployment, Appropriate Technology (APPROTECH) etc. these dominate the news in Ghana, and they have since 1983. Ghana adopted these economic policies upon the recommendation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank; after the 1983 famine. Before the great famine of 1983, Ghana had dropped very low, deep into the underdeveloped economies bracket. Years of various forms of corruption, in all sectors of society had drained the national coffers of all savings over the years. One wondered whether it was the same Gold Coast which had enough to give huge donations and loans to Guinea in the 1960’s.

After its ‘house – cleaning – exercise’ in 1979, the ruling Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) handed over to the democratically elected Peoples National Party (PNP), under President Hilla Limman. On the now famous 31^st December 1981, the AFRC announced its comeback; this time as the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). In the words of the new but obviously old leader, Jerry Rawlings, Ghana could not endure another year of corrupt rule under the PNP. The idea this time round was to restore sanity into the status quo. To many Ghanaians, this was GOOD NEWS. It was in the name of the restoration of sanity into the status quo that the ERP, PAMSCAD etc. were adopted.

AN EMERGING AFRICAN ECONOMIC GIANT?

Over the years of its implementation, Ghana is believed to have experienced appreciable levels of economic development. Indeed signs abound as testimony of the improved level of economic progress. There are no more queues for groceries as there used to be in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s; the range of goods available on the market is unimaginable; electricity, drinking water, kerosene, they are now readily available in most villages around the country. For the first time in the history of transport and communication in Ghana, there are asphalt roads, improved telephone services, etc. Foreign investment in the industrial sector has also increased, with the purchase of government industries through the diversification program, and the building of new industries. In fact Ghana is now often cited as an example to the rest of the developing world, an achievement emphasised by the visit of President Bill Clinton to Ghana in 1998.

These and other signs are often alluded to as testimonies of Ghana’s economic progress under the PNDC and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

But perhaps before the world opens the Champagne for the celebration of ‘economic success’ one needs to consider the question; Who are the real beneficiaries of Ghana’s Economic Recovery Programme?

REAL SIGNS

No national development can be celebrated if the ordinary people of the nation have not seen the development manifest in progress in their standard and cost of living. In the Ghanaian situation, there is not adequate evidence to confidently say that ordinary Ghanaians have seen any progress in their lives. Sometimes the situation seems rather ironical. Perhaps those who claim that Ghanaians are better off today do not use the right index or measure of economic growth. They tend to depend largely on facts and figures, meaningless to most ordinary Ghanaians, and outward signs, which are very deceptive and meaningless to ordinary Ghanaians.

One question that development analysts have failed to address over and over is, have the development strides manifested in the lives of ordinary Ghanaian? Many Ghanaians will answer that they have not seen any manifestations of Ghana’s Economic development in their lives.

 ‘Essential commodities’ as they were called in the ‘kalabule’ days are indeed available in every corner of the country, but at what prices are they sold? Their prices keep on fleeting, farther and farther away from the reach of the ordinary man’s pocket. In a situation where less that 7% of the working population earns $100 monthly, one can hardly afford a tin of milk for tea in the morning. Each week, price tags are changed in the shops, obviously, to increase the prices of the commodities.

 One has to admit that electricity and safe drinking water are now widely available all over the country. But before any celebration, lets ask, how many Ghanaians are able to pay their bills? Bills keep on deterring people from enjoying this infrastructure. In most villages where electricity has been extended, people still sleep in the dark. The Electricity Corporation of Ghana is now self-financing, and it fixes its own bill rates. The disconnection task force is now the most efficient unit, and poor homes are disconnected at ease. The same can safely be said of Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation (GWSC).

The greatest test of the development drive was faced in 1997/98 when sever droughts left the Akosombo dam dry. Didn’t the government fail? Where was the foresight? Having suffered similar crisis in 1983, why has the government failed to seek alternative sources of electricity?

Industries and services suffered a complete blackout for months. One wonders why the government thought it wise to extend electricity tot he villages, when it was obvious that the Akosombo dam was vulnerable to drought. This is not to suggest that our rural folk should be doomed to sleeping in darkness. Rather, the bottom line is, that the income of the rural folk is far too small to finance the enjoyment of electricity.

Obviously the only reason was, to win votes in the 1992 and 1996 General Elections.

Yes, foreign currency is now available on the streets, but isn’t the rate of exchange forever galloping? The government has now abandoned the Auction of foreign exchange introduced in the mid 80’s. Importer now have to buy foreign currency at private forex-bureaux bureau rate. Unfortunately, the exchange rate in the private forex bureaux is determined by the market forces of supply and demand. In a situation where the only supply of foreign exchange into the private sector is irregular remittance from relatives abroad, there is a constant excess demand over the supply of ‘commodities’. The foreign exchange market is in fact plagued by excess demand over supply. The situation is worsened by the fact that the government operates a very high forex-bureaux operational tax. It is sad to acknowledge that before 1979, the foreign exchange rate was only 2.75 cedis to a dollar. Today it is almost 2000 cedis to a dollar. This situation renders any attempt to control inflation ineffective. Indeed the most significant cause of inflation in Ghana is the fact that while Ghanaians earn cedis, they spend dollars and pound sterling. Prices are increased at the rate of changes in the foreign exchange market. If importers do not sell their imports at the expected foreign exchange rate in the next two or more months, their capital can not import the same amount of goods even though the prices would be stable on the foreign market. The reason is that after each day, the same amount of cedis buys lesser amount of dollars. Needles to say, Ghanaians have become magicians, how they manage to survive on their meagre income in such a market situation is pure magic; very much comparable to the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes. People’s standard of living is forever falling, more and more peoples are getting drowned in the sea of poverty, marked by great despair and desperation; a situation comparable to that of Dr Faustus. Many men have lost their manhood; no money, no spouse – it is high time poverty was considered a cause of increased rape cases. Men simply cannot afford to marry; divorce rate is on the increase. In fact everybody and everything is on the run. People wonder why the lottery has become so popular, why the government has registered countless private lotto operators. Simply, everybody is in the hunt for a jackpot, that seems to be the only possible solution to the crisis. One does not have to question why each day, more than five lottery results are announced on television.

One of the reforms introduces by the PNDC government was the Junior Secondary School – Senior Secondary School system. The reason was that too many clerical graduates were being produced by the old education system into an economy which needed more of technical graduates instead.

The new system was thus introduced to produce more carpenters and builders, and it was a good move. However, the implementation process was rather too revolutionary. In 1987, when it began on a full scale, workshops, tools and equipment, books, classrooms and even the teachers required were not available. One reason for this was, that too many schools had been established. A Junior Secondary School (JSS) was opened in almost every village, and it was too difficult to run them. No wonder, a government directive was later given; that no school should be established within ten-mile radius of another one. By 1993, when the first batch of students had to write the Senior Secondary School Certificate of Examination (SSCE), the books, equipment, teachers etc. were still not available and their horrible results showed clearly, that their future had been sacrificed in the name of an experiment. To date, no year has seen more that 5% of the students passing well enough to enter Ghanaian universities.

 University Education was intended to be a part of the reforms. Unfortunately the condition on the campuses is horrible. Since their establishment, none of the universities have seen any development in facilities in the halls of residence, the lecture halls and laboratories, the libraries etc. Yet, new ‘universities’ are being established in the country each year. God knows if these new ones can ever be called universities. In the old universities, single rooms now officially accommodate at least three people. The situation is worsened by the number of ‘perchers’ in each room. This has manifested in a dangerous level of stress on bathroom, lecture halls and library facilities. Today, students are not given a maintenance allowance but are rather given meagre loans. Each academic year there is a new kind of fee being introduced, and all attempts are being made to introduce rent. Perhaps the government should be told that this could not work in a society of mass poverty and absence of scholarships. The working conditions of lecturers and other university workers is also very bad, little wonder they are always on strike; crying out for better conditions of service. The 1994/95 academic year had to be derailed for nine months, because lecturers were on strike. In fact strikes have become a part of the Ghanaian culture. They seem the only way to achieve anything.

CONCLUSION

It is the reality of situation such as these that inspire some critics to insist that a amore careful look should be taken at the Ghanaian development situation. Unfortunately, the ordinary people in whose name loans and grants have been taken, and for whom reforms are introduced, have not seen any real manifestation of change in their lives. The only people who have seen any progress are the government officials and their families. Do Ghanaians still have pictures of Jerry and Nana Konadu from the early 80’s? Is this the same Jerry Rawlings we see on the TV’s today? A fat cat indeed and in deed; what a change.