Despite steady growth in Ghana’s macroeconomic indicators over the past ten years, economist and political risk analyst Dr. Theo Acheampong says there is a stark contrast between the positive economic growth and the living conditions of Ghanaians. According to Dr. Acheampong, the progress seen in the country’s economic indicators over the last decade has not improved the lives of the people.
In his words, “Ghanaians are much worse off today than ten years ago.”
He explains in a Facebook post that, despite the much-touted macroeconomic growth, unemployment is rising, and inequality is widening, pushing many Ghanaians into poverty and worsening their living conditions. Dr. Acheampong notes that the emphasis on job creation in the manifestos of the two leading political parties underscores how this critical area of economic empowerment has been neglected by successive governments.
“The covers of the recently launched manifestos of the two leading parties in Ghana reveal a lot: both feature the word ‘JOBS’ in their titles. For me, this is prescient, as it is one of the paramount issues for many Ghanaians, especially the urban youth,” Dr. Acheampong indicated.
He added that, over the past decade, the political class and commentators have become increasingly focused on macro-growth and related indicators like GDP and inflation. However, he stressed, “the much-touted macro-growth has not translated into job creation, and therefore, reducing poverty and inequality at the same scale. In fact, Ghanaians are much worse off.”
Ironically, this situation is far worse at a time when the country is benefiting from oil revenue compared to the 1990s when there was no oil income.
“Ghana more than halved its poverty rate from 47% in 1991 at US$1.90 per person per day (2011 PPP) to 12% in 2012 – this was without oil production; it was mostly donor support from HIPC/MDRI and other business reforms. Since then [with the advent of oil production and record borrowing of Eurobonds from the international capital markets], poverty has actually increased every year in successive recent years since 2012,” the economist noted.
World Bank statistics show that 27% of Ghana’s population lived below the international poverty rate of US$2.15 per day in 2022. It is anticipated that poverty will be at its highest level in over a decade in 2024, with the country’s international poverty rate estimated by the World Bank at 33%.
Experts have previously raised concerns that impressive economic growth has failed to translate into job creation, as growth has primarily occurred in sectors with low potential for job creation, such as the services sector, rather than in agriculture and industry.
