Ghana’s 32-year democracy is saving grace for the 4th Republic under President Akufo-Addo

Since 1992, Ghana has enjoyed an uninterrupted multi-party democracy and successfully produced 5 Presidents from the dominant NDC and the NPP (e.g. Rawlings, Kufour, Atta-Mills, Mahama & Akufo-Addo) in this 4th Republican dispensation.

Ghana is known to be an ‘island of peace’ because neighbouring countries like Togo, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, etc. in the West African Sub-Region have seen a lot of political conflicts and unrest.

However, this is not the case under the leadership of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led regime for the past 8 years. The first term of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led regime generated unspoken fear among Ghanaians to freely speak about the rot of this regime. This has reflected in the poor performance of Ghana in the Global Media Freedom figures under President Akufo-Addo.

The very things that the Akufo-Addo-led NPP heavily criticized during the Mahama-led regime for, such as family & friends’ government, corruption, excessive borrowing, and general incompetence in the discharge of government business even became worse under this Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led government.

Also, various mouth-watering promises of the NPP like the Free SHS program, 1D1F, 1Village1Dam, 1$Million1Constituency, etc. witnessed poor results due to hasty implementation by this Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led regime.

In addition to these badly implemented policies, this Akufo-Addo-led government exhibited insensitivity toward Ghanaians by passing the draconian E-levy, made a U-turn on a $3 billion IMF loan facility due to mismanaged economy as well as worsening galamsey operations and corruption scandals.

During the 2020 general elections, Ghanaians through their votes wanted this current President out of office, which is reflected in the hung 8th Parliament we have today. It even led to scores of deaths in the 2020 general elections, which was the first of its kind in the history of the 4th Republic.

The promises of the current Flagbearer of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia when he was in Opposition in 2016 became a mirage. The unending hardships facing Ghanaians over the past 8 years coupled with crippling high inflation rate, Debt to GDP, corruption scandals, joblessness among the youth, and general insensitivity of this government are a fertile ground for political disturbances.

Considering the legacy of President Akufo-Addo in terms of the national economy, security and intimidation, social and corruption, energy and transport as well as environment, his regime is the worst and most disappointing one in Ghana’s 4th Republic (See details in the publication:

https://www.modernghana.com/news/1306784/akufo-addo-is-the-worst-and-most-disappointing.html -19. April 2024).

However, Ghanaians are keen on keeping the 4th Republic intact whilst waiting for the right time on December 7, 2024, to vote for this disappointing regime led by Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia. Despite the numerous ‘sins’ of this Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led government coupled with seeming current tensions between the Legislature and the Judiciary, Ghanaians still love democracy and want to keep this 32-year democracy of Ghana, which is the saving grace to the vulnerability of our 4th Republic to a Coup.

The continuous peace that the country enjoys now should not be taken for granted by political actors. It therefore our collective responsibility to protect and defend this 4th Republican Constitution for sustainable and more inclusive development.