Ghana in the next 40 years

I would like us to talk about Ghana in the next 40 years. 40 years from now is not too far away from today. It comprises five (5) or eight politics. You could aptly describe it as being eight political years multiplied by 5 sequences.

It takes about two political terms, per the norm today, for a seating government to fully execute the dream they put down on paper. This is partial to some extent. I mean this is so present. The current incumbent government of Ghana, the New Patriotic Party, would love to stay in power consecutively in years beyond their current eight-year political term. They have drawn an agenda to break the so-called 8.

I am writing this book to portray how Ghana would fairly look in the next 40 years’ time. I am seeking to paint an imaginary picture of Ghana by this time in the future.

We have all been having discussions on the recent pandemic to date. We have paid much attention to COVID-19 and the associated challenges that came with it. It swept many lives away globally and locally. Yes, it took a huge chunk of our money. Monies from the state treasury. It threw our nation's budget out of gear, especially with the lockdowns that were brought in. It affected our personal budgets too.

Nothing is entirely free on this planet yet we had some freebies. We enjoyed free electricity and water freely for some length of time. Owing to the lockdowns that were introduced at certain places where COVID-19 had awoken there were free foods too given in some of these places. Then we had to import nose masks and hand sanitisers in large quantities. We had to practice frequent washing of hands before joining crowds and before entering public buildings and at our homes since some claimed the disease was airborne. So, gadgets or accoutrements that went with it were purchased including gun thermometers in large numbers to check the temperature of people everywhere at events, places and prior to entering any public buildings to do a transaction.

The shift system of schooling and working took place and we had to grapple with practising social distancing anywhere everywhere, at all times and on all occasions. But finances were put in place to cover all these. It involved a lot of cash. Donations were made to the state treasury to lessen the hard impact of the COVID-19 pandemic here in Ghana.

To give or not to give water freely is a choice. However, giving out water freely to Ghanaian society was a novel and innovative decision. It was not granted in a gradual phase or on a pilot basis. It was granted all at once to everybody – a direct changeover and looking at the way the economy of African countries is it would be completely unwise to disclose every minute detail of the total costs that went in to cushion the severity of the plight we had at stake. That would be cumbersome as well.

Imagine you have a close relative at the point of despair or despondency on his or her death bed and you are told to buy the umpteenth item and to pay untold bills. You would keep buying the items and paying the bills to the last pesewa until he or she survives it or till he or she loses the battle through that health challenge. The same applies to salvaging the economy during peculiar times or not normal times.

At the end of the day you, would not want to disclose the actual cost you incurred in the whole process of treating the unwell relative.

One. It is unwise to do so...It becomes an extra burden or task to do that...l, these go a long way to tell us that instead of servicing our national debt now we would have to work harder as a nation to put things in the right places. We have to fix the pile of debt that has increased over time and all hands should be on deck to get this done.

Ghana is not the sole preserve of any political party. No one particular political party owns Ghana. Contributions are welcome from everyone to build our dear nation. This book seeks to discuss in plain words and vivid descriptions the likely outlook of Ghana in the next 40 years dwelling on topics and issues such as education, future taxes, modern technology, religion, agricultural development, the future of Ghana’s economy, politics, the current job market, infrastructural development, the transportation sector, living expenses today and that of the future, our spoken and written languages and many more.