Hundreds of Ghanaians protested the country’s deteriorating economy on the streets of Accra yesterday. The protest was in response to the high inflation rate, which has increased the cost of living for Ghanaians. Protesters demanded yesterday that President Nana Akufo-Addo resign. Thousands of concerned Ghanaians marched peacefully across Accra on Saturday, carrying placards and chanting “Akufo-Addo must go” and “IMF no.” Ghana’s government is negotiating a $3 billion loan bailout with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Read the entire story here. However, the protesters voiced their opposition to the idea yesterday.
This is not Ghana’s first protest against the current administration this year. Thousands of protesters marched through the streets in June, demanding that the government reverse the policies that are causing inflation to rise. Ghana has been struggling to keep its economy afloat since the beginning of the year. Between March and May, the government raised the policy interest rate twice, each time by at least 200 basis points. The government did this in an attempt to counterbalance the country’s rising inflation rate of 27%. With Ghana’s current inflation rate of 37%, one of the highest in the world, it goes without saying that the aforementioned directive was a colossal failure.
Ghana was reported to have the world’s weakest currency in September. Read the entire story here. Parliamentarians demanded the immediate release of the current finance minister last week, but the president vetoed the request. Last week, the president would also address the people, formally declaring the country’s economy to be in a state of emergency. Read the entire story here. Ghana, a gold, cocoa, and oil-producing country, appears to be bearing the brunt of a global economic slowdown, despite previously being one of Africa’s most robust economies and a prominent player on the global economic stage.