Several factors accounts for the voting patterns of individuals across different Geographical areas. in this article, we are going to highlight 4 key socioeconomic events and policies that will undoubtedly influence the people’s choice in the upcoming election.
1.PUBLIC DEBT STOCK
Public debt stock is the total amount of money and assets borrowed by the government of a country. The major sources of government debt stock include dated government securities, treasury, external assistance and short-term borrowing.
Ghana’s debt hit GHS 263Billion in July 2020, the country is expected to spend about GHS 26Billion in interest payments for this year ALONE. The debt to GDP (Gross Domestic Product: The total revenue raised by the country locally per anum ) ratio has been growing sharply from 44% n 2016 to 58% in 2017 and subsequently to 59.1% in 2018.
At the maiden IMF/world bank meeting, Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta appealed to the world bank, IMF and G20 to extend the debt repayment of emerging and developing countries. He remarked that
“We must address worsening debt vulnerabilities to avoid a debt crisis, beyond the Debt Suspension Initiative. When debt cancellations or restructurings are necessary, a framework and mechanisms should be put in place to achieve expeditious and fair sovereign debt resolution involving official and private creditors. The IMF, World Bank and development partners should urgently work on such a framework and find the means to provide exceptional financing to countries undergoing debt restructuring”,
Does debt help or hurt the economy?
Debt serves many purposes in an economy. Government borrowing and spending creates jobs for all the private contractors who would be involved in the projects the debt sponsors. This also creates income for the people who the contractors would spend their money on (crowding in). Government borrowing can increase growth and therefore make the debt as a percentage of GDP insignificant as time goes on. Government borrowing also provides a safe asset for investors to subscribe to instead of chasing risky assets.
But can debt hurt the economy? If government borrowing tempts investors away from investing in potentially profitable private sector business or achieves the same thing by raising general interest rates (since no one will lend to you at a rate lower than the government is borrowing) then it could harm future growth. This is what is referred to as crowding out.
2.CORRUPTION/ ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGNS
Despite being one of the least corrupt countries in Africa, Ghana is annually losing billions to graft - a menace that keeps people poor and shatters their dreams. While most of the countries of the continent are awash with corruption, Ghana is according to Transparency International (TI) Corruption Index among the least corrupt countries of the continent.
A recent corruption scandal serves as an example for acts that leave “citizens in poverty, joblessness, in their broken homes and with shattered dreams,” said a statement, issued by the The National House of Chiefs, the highest body in Ghana that unites all traditional rulers, chiefs and kings.
The scandal erupted when the Government decided to hand over the country’s power supply system to independent foreign power producers.
Because of this, the “demand for electricity never went up at the anticipated rate due to tariff increases and slow economic growth,” according to the Business Weekly research.
Instead, the plants ended up producing excess capacity, as, reportedly, the installed capacity, according to the Energy Commission of Ghana, is 5,083MW, “almost double the peak demand of 2,700MW, out of which 2,300MW has been contracted on a take-or-pay basis, which means that Ghana is contractually obliged to spend money for excess capacity that is not being consumed.”
This meant that Ghana’s Government is paying more than US$500 million every year for unused electric power. Critics were keen to criticize the government for giving away the country’s strategic company - the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to a group of friends, politicians and businessmen allegedly linked to his administration.
DIGITIZATION
Previous attempts to fight corruption in the country usually focused on promoting ethical behaviors among citizens in a series of campaigns. However , in recent times , the government have adopted a new method as part of its strategy to fight corruption-Digitization. When have witnessed the thorough digitization of processes and activities which used to be heavily laden with corruption related incidents
Some of the digital initiatives comprises the introduction of Zipline Technology’s, a medical drone programme, which is helping in healthcare delivery especially to the hard-to-reach communities of Ghana, introduction of a Paperless Port system which has reduced turn-around times at the country’s ports, the digitation of DVLA to eliminate corrupt practices, the introduction of a Digital Property Addressing System, issuance of a National ID card and the provision of banking services to every resident of Ghana through the innovative Mobile Payments Interoperability platform among others.
3.PFSHS(Progressive Free Senior High School)/FSHS(Free Senior High School) Policy
A review of Ghana's former high school policies and operations led to the essential creation of Free SHS. Ghana's Ministry of Education, observed the lack of efficiency in key areas; access to education, quality of education, and education management. In the policy’s initial introduction into the public sphere, there was disapproval due to a lack of understanding of its nature. Commotion concerning increasing upper-class taxes and adding pressure onto middle class and lower class students to achieve higher than already expected grades.
Fears of failures to adequately distribute resources and funds could have posed further risk of disadvantage for students already experiencing difficulties. Free SHS maximized literacy levels increased economic and social developments. The initial negative social response transformed to overwhelming support, especially for its ability to deter adolescents from social vices to make impactful contributions to their local communities.
The policy lifted the financial burden for most parents, who can now be more supportive in their child’s academia without feeling dependent on scholarships or private benefits. In aim to afford long term educational costs, lower income households commonly neglect the short term educational costs. Hence the tuition payment for parents and guardians was essential obligation and the purchasing of school equipment became secondary needs.
The Free SHS policy covers the primary and secondary expenditure that caregivers were burdened to provide despite their economic incapability to do so. Initially most parents would pay for secondary school tuition based on their own ability to understand their child’s competency, but are now relieved of the social hindrance of choosing some children over others to be educated.
The Government spent GH¢212 million from the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) in the first year of implementing the program. The program have now been removed from the list of projects funded with the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) . The policy is now funded by the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat
The formation of the policy did not come without typical political and social backlash concerning as to how the funding for the policy will be collected and operated. The initial proposal for the system to be primarily funded by the government through re-adjustments of the national financial budget.
By utilizing the country’s oil reserves. the policy was made possible and implemented to be sustainable in its first two years.