GHANA @ 55 & Hirschman’s typology

On March 6, Ghana, the first African nation to shake itself out of the shackles of colonial rule will mark its 55^th independence from Britain.  The country recorded one of the highest growth rates in Africa in 2011. The growth of the economy is spurred by the extractive and service sectors. 

Oil production started late 2010 along the country’s Western seaboard near the port city of Takoradi. Public expectations are high and there is also unease that the oil resources maybe misapplied.

Inflation has been falling steadily in the last decade but this is meaningless to the ordinary Ghanaian as the price of basic commodities and services continue to rise far above income levels. In fact, incomes have stagnated or shrunk altogether.

There is a growing pool of young unemployed. Unemployed university graduates recently formed an association to articulate more coherently the concerns of young people in public policy making spheres and for more jobs.

Benefits of the extractive sector to the larger economy remain marginal at best in spite of the soaring gold and mineral prices. The country is Africa’s second major gold exporter, coming after South Africa. A fifth of Ghana’s landmass is under mineral concessions. Government has announced imposition of higher corporate tax (from 25% to 35%) and a 10% windfall profit tax on mining companies to improve beneficiation to the country.

The stakes are high this year. In December, the country heads to the polls to elect president and parliamentarians. 

The economy, mismanagement of the public purse and poor delivery of social services will dominate discussions. The shrinking manufacturing and agric sectors cannot escape the attention of those vying for the mandate of Ghanaians as these two sectors serve as the source of livelihood for two-thirds of the population. 

The national currency is on the decline and a rise in the base rate by the central bank, Bank of Ghana, from 12.5 to 13.5 per cent has sent shivers down the spine of manufacturers as the cost of borrowing and running of their businesses will inevitably balloon.

The supply of basic utilities such as water and electricity are erratic. Public health infrastructure and schools are under severe strain. Public schools especially in rural and peri-urban areas are scoring lowest in exams, thus churning more school drop outs. The National Health Insurance Scheme is bedeviled with inefficiencies and blatant abuse.

A quote from H. Kwasi Prempeh in the book “Ghana, Governance in the 4^th Republic” and edited by Baffour Agyeman Duah makes an interesting read:

“To borrow Albert Hirschman’s typology, the reaction of the influential Ghanaian to a public problem is not to have recourse to more ‘voice’ (i.e. push for a more public solution); it is to ‘exit’ from the public condition altogether (i.e. resort to a private solution) thereby allowing the problem to fester. 

The low and unorganized civic engagement and activism particularly on the part of Ghana’s influential professional class is to find his or her own private solution to a public problem. The instinctive and common sense Ghanaian response to a deterioration in the supply of quality of public goods is evidenced by the following:

•       To deteriorating public schools, the professional Ghanaian sends his/her children to private schools;
•       To a crisis in public health facilities, he/she switches to private hospitals; 
•       To an unreliable supply of public electricity, the professional Ghanaian installs s private electrical generator;
•       To growing urban crime, the response is to hire private security services or get behind gated private neighbourhoods;
•       To impassable or potholed roads, the private solution is to drive in 4x4s; 
•       Finally, to get through the corrupt bureaucracy, the Ghanaian professional uses his/her private connection and payoffs”.  

This is not peculiar to Ghana for sure. In all the over a dozen African countries that I've ever visited, the situation is hardly any different. Are you reading from another African country or/and any other country for that matter? Post a comment or two about how similar or dissimilar the situation is where you are.