Sep 22

Sep 22 Why Ghanaians are Protesting - #occupyjulorbihouse

On Thursday 21st September which happened to be Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday and therefore a public holiday in Ghana , Ghanaians decided to take to the streets to peacefully protest the very harsh economic conditions the regular Ghanaian has had to endure under the terrible and frankly embarrassing leadership of Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo Addo - the current president of the Republic of Ghana. Before we delve into this, it is important to note that Akuffo Addo is a lawyer who dedicated a part of his career and life to championing human rights and democracy. It is also important to note that the right to protest is guaranteed under our constitution - so is freedom of the press.

However on Thursday morning, as Ghanaians took to the streets to rightfully exercise their right to protest, the police in their riot gear decided to assault, intimidate, harass, and arrest protesters citing that the protest was illegal. It wasn’t if you are wondering. The police has the right to seek an injunction via the courts if they deem the protest a security risk. They then need to serve the conveyors of the protest and wait for the court to rule. They only did just one part of this: seeking the injunction. They did not follow the rule of law. It is also important to note that Ghanaians are demanding for better conditions for every single person. EVERYONE.

What Ghanaians do not have

Access to (good) healthcare: Pregnant women give birth on hospital floors because of the lack of hospital beds. Ghanaians (ex the bourgeoisie and political class) are more likely to die from a simple infection due to lack of resources and doctors being overwhelmed and under equipped. In some cases, specimen has been flown outside of the country to be assessed by labs. Oxygen is rationed. In the rare case that you have access to an ambulance, you may need to hold on very tightly till you make it to the hospital as paramedics do not come with that service or even pay for your own fuel. The NHIS is completely useless and most hospitals refuse it outright
A thriving economy: Ghana is bankrupt. Due to mismanagement and continuous borrowing, almost a million Ghanaians have been pushed into poverty. As if this is not enough, the government has introduced several different taxes to make sure that the ordinary Ghanaian is always operating from a place of lack. Electricity tariffs have gone up at least twice this year. The cost of food and services increases daily and yet salaries have remained the same. Under the NPP government, there has been numerous corruption scandals. The finance minister who has been really instrumental in destroying this country is the President’s cousin and therefore untouchable. He has/will not be sacked.
Freedom of right and association: The anti LGBTQ+ bill is in parliament. The aim of the bill is to criminalize and jail queer people and allies. The youth is profiled by the police constantly and extorted.
Access to (good) roads: Ghanaians spend hours of their lives in traffic due to bad roads. Some need to wake up hours before they need to be at work to make it on time. Tema Motorway, Mallam - Kaneshie road, Santeo, Sowutuom, and many more communities have roads that are so inaccessible that most cannot return home when it rains. School children often lose their lives on their way to school due to lack of good roads. Farmers lose more than half of their harvest during transportation due to trucks being slowed down due to bad roads. People are at the risk of losing their lives and possessions each time it rains. Google June 3rd, 2015 - Ghana.
Infrastructure and resources: Children study under trees. They have no access to simple tools like desks and chairs. The surgical ward at Korle-bu teaching hospital is one tremor away from collapsing. The La General Hospital was torn down under the orders of the president and has yet to be constructed years in. Note that the community did not ask for this. However there is a billboard thanking the president for rebuilding the hospital.
Proper management of state properties: Both the NPP and NDC consider it their birthright to loot state properties and claim as their own. Projects of previous leaders are abandoned in favour of starting newer projects therefore ensuring that at every single time, money is effectively wasted. There are thousands of cars and buildings abandoned by the NPP and NDC governments because it was started by their predecessors.
Due process: Several thousand people have spent years in prison on remand without their cases ever reaching the court or without knowing exactly what they are being charged with. The courts are backed up. This means that the hand of justice is very slow and almost non existent.
Jobs: As part of the promises by Akuffo Addo and the NPP government; Ghanaians were promised one million jobs through NABCO and the One- District One- Factory initiative. Ghanaians are yet to see any of these manifest. Under NABCO, the youth have remain unpaid for months and for some a year.
Basic needs being met: Under this government, the political elite and friends & family of the president have thrived. They have set up new businesses. Their families vacation in the most exotic places. They have access to prime healthcare and premium education. They live in wealth while the ordinary Ghanaian lives in squalor - pinching pennies and trying to hold back the eventual decline in their already low standard of living.

Is it therefore surprising that Ghanaians have taken to the streets to protest corruption? The police have always been used as a tool of oppression. The ruling class and the government have managed to seize and maintain control of the police by intentionally underpaying them and making it such that they need them and their little favours to survive. However there comes a point where everyone needs to make a stand and stand for what’s right. To quote Akuffo Addo, “ we should all be citizens not spectators.” And so we listened to him and his numerous other tweets about the Mahama government (attached below) and decided to take our country back and demand for better conditions for everyone just as he did when he wasn’t in power- including the police who have made it their mission to attack, harass, assault and arrest innocent protestors.The silence of the local media as the rights of Ghanaians are infringed upon is deafeaning.

What they underestimated is the power of organizing, community and the internet. Lawyers and volunteers readily offered their skills and time on thursday, visiting different police stations to offer food and legal services to all the protestors who had been arrested just for daring too ask for better for everyone.