Current economic hardships are not unique to Ghana

Ghana is currently established to be experiencing unprecedented economic hardships by the views of many an ordinary poor Ghanaian. This is a fact that must be acknowledged, explained and addressed.

Prices of goods and services keep increasing on daily basis to the dismay of many a Ghanaian including myself.

However, the economic hardships the country is going through are not unique to Ghana but a worldwide catastrophe.

The Covid-19 pandemic that led to the lockdown of nations where citizens were ordered to remain indoors, workers shut out of workplaces, production ceasing and people dying in their numbers, exacerbated any economic problems the world was faced with.

The threat of war by Russia against Ukraine started its own economic problems and made matters worse when the war actually started.

Russia supplies about 40% of the natural gas needs of some Western European countries but with the threats of war and actual war, Russia has drastically reduced their gas supply to such countries.

They are using the gas as an effective weapon to bring such countries to their knees to coerce them to support Russia in what is clearly their invasion of a sovereign state for their parochial selfish interests.

Russia produces and exports oil. It is one of the largest oil exporting countries in the world.

However, they are not only restricting their production of petroleum for war purposes but also, economic sanctions have been placed on them by the Western world.

This has led to the shortage of oil on the market with the risk of exporting them becoming greater and more expensive hence the hike in prices of the little oil on the market.

Throughout all the European and American nations, prices of petroleum products have gone up very high. Such price increments on oil have had ripple effect on other goods and services.

Go to France, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Canada and United States of America, just to mention a few countries, prices of petroleum products and goods have gone up so high to the worry of all citizens.

Have the prices gone up because of the economic mismanagement of one particular President or Prime Minister? No!!!

Is it only in Ghana that prices of goods and especially, petroleum products, have gone up? No!!!.

Ghanaians had better check with other nations to see how they are equally facing price hikes.

It is equally as worse in France, United Kingdom and Germany as it is in Ghana, yet people are not moaning as Ghanaians are noted for doing in Ghana.

It is sad to see many a Ghanaian say, l shall never vote NPP come election 2024 because they have made conditions of living harder than they were under former President John Mahama.

I shake my head in pity for those Ghanaians who see the administration of Jobn Mahama's as better than that of Nana Akufo-Addo's.

Do they really understand the havoc Covid-19 and the ongoing Russia/Ukraine war have wreaked on the worldwide economy?

If the NPP government is involved in acts of malfeasance, say it and expose them.

However, to blame the current hikes in oil and other goods on them because of their imprudent economic policies is just as erroneous as such blame is the purposeful malevolent intention of the populist NDC.

Let me regain my bed as it is very well into the wee hours of Saturday, 19 March 2022 and l feel tired, although robbed of sleep.

More to write about my Ghana experience and how dirty our practice of democracy is.

Rockson Adofo

Saturday, 19 March 2022