What Nana Addo’s win means to Ghanaians
This is a man who has run for the presidency for eight years. I'm talking about a 72-year-old man who is expected to be on retirement and not vying for a position as tedious and demanding as a president.
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President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo at the recent thanksgiving service held at the Accra Sports Stadium confirmed his struggle towards this victory.
"My personal journey to this day has been a long, long one: A journey of over four decades, working shoulder to shoulder with fellow patriots and nationalists for democracy in our beloved Ghana.
“Our stamina has been tested. The going was not easy. The road has been rough. The valleys were deep. And the mountains were steep. We stumbled many times along the way.
“Sometimes we came tantalisingly close to the proverbial walls of the city but, painfully the city gates were closed in our faces. But we never lost hope. We learnt from each mistake and we soldiered on, in the belief that in His own time, we will get there, better prepared."
All of a sudden this vilified former Attorney General who has served the nation in diverse ways is being hailed for succeeding at his goal. Of course, this teaches us the lesson of determination, perseverance and focus.
Listening to a conversation two nights ago, two young women drew my mind to what I have decided to share with you. What are Ghanaians expectations from this new government? Are they expecting more money in their pockets or better infrastructure? Is their expectation in health care or is it in the total welfare of the people? Is it in providing free education or freedom of living comfortably in a vibrant economy?
Boost in local markets
The two young women in question were discussing the prospects of a booming marketplace where the prices of fuel would enable them to sell their goods at reasonable prices. Also, they were of high hope that import taxes would drop significantly for them to be able to sell off their wares faster due to lower sales price.
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All these will mean people will be shopping locally rather than from online foreign markets. Less monies will go out of the country which will mean more money circulating within.
According to a US economic report, "There's too much money chasing too few real growth opportunities. Investors start putting good money into not-so-good investments. When those investments start losing money, confidence is lost. Panic ensues, investors start selling, causing more investments to lose money. It doesn't end until prices are low enough to stop the madness and attract investors again".
Ghanaians are, therefore, looking forward to a workable local market for the people and by the people.
Investing in businesses
What many leaders fail to realise is that a failure in both public and private businesses automatically means a collapse in the economy because businesses are a fuel for revenue and income for any economic growth.
We expect to see the government's interest in local and private businesses. Nana Addo's government must be ready to offer support for such ventures in order for wealth to be shared across the nation.
His economic transformation programme should put Ghana onto a clear path towards a high income economy and Ghanaians into high income earners while promoting healthy domestic manufacturing industries essential to national prosperity.
Improvement in living standards
A better standard of living is seen in employment rate, education, better housing, provision of food and better health care for the people.
Many Ghanaians are self-motivated and are ready to operate businesses but with little or no funding. Such people will be expecting support from government through schemes and credit unions.
Also, the one factory per district will be a great channel for job creation and so we are very expectant of its implementation.
Education at the high school level when made free (definitely, not totally free as you'll have to pay for a few items), will mean that the least educational background for the ordinary Ghanaian will no more be basic school but secondary level.
This will put the citizens at a greater advantage in many areas such as logic reasoning, decision making, and contributing their quota to national development.
A better health care, which is affordable for all, will mean protecting the nation's human capital to increase productivity at all levels for the country. We, therefore, expect a better approach towards the health sector and its impact on citizens.
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We hear politicians say, “We shall put monies in your pockets", and we wonder how. It is simply through workable policies and its implementation.
Ghanaians are hopeful that their pockets shall indeed be filled, and that the hunger and price hikes shall be minimal under this new governance.
Work for the newly elected official starts in January 2017 and so we can only wish them luck and expect them to deliver. More so, in a democratic dispensation as ours, we can only sit back, monitor, and expect a gradual change.
If all things go as expected or vice versa, we shall be at the polls once again in four years to exercise the power of our thumbs.
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