As the days for Ghana's election to elect new leaders for the nation's administration draw nearer, everyone is in haste and heated up for who must be the next president. Ghana is an independent nation and runs multi-party systems. The country has two major political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which was founded by the former and deceased President, H.E Jerry John Rawlings. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) was also founded by H.E John Agyekom Kuffuor. These two parties have been rivals for a very long time.
Ghana's election which will take place on Saturday, December 7th, 2024, is in the lights of anticipation, fear, aggression, and warm-ups. The prayer of most of the citizens is that the election will be a peaceful one, as peace reigns in Ghana once again.
But dearest gentle reader, before every election the representative candidates for each political party standing to be elected as the next president read a manifesto, stating their policies, and what they will do when elected into power. Amazing ain't it? This isn't the same in every country in the world, since some are still practicing the military regime system (dictatorship). Ghana on the other hand practices the democratic system where the people of the country get to make the decision.
The policies of the two major political parties
Among all the policies that each of the two major political parties wants to initiate, the debate on which is more important has been a topic of discussion among many folks. These policies are Ghana's 24-hour economy, and Ghana goes digital (digitalization)
Understanding the 24-hour economy
The 24-hour economy can be put as a societal or economic structure that operates continuously, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. This is to mean that, the economy of the country is going to be running 24/7 non-stop. Hawkers, traders, marketplaces, industries, banks, organizations, drivers, and police and military personnel will be working every hour and moment of the day. The question is, wouldn't a single person be tired of working 24 hours around the clock throughout the week. No, the economy will be structured such that, a set of people will work at night and some in the day. People with night shifts can rest in the day, and those who will be working in the day can have the absolute time to rest in the night. I am certain of one thing when this policy is implemented and put in place in the country Ghana, there will be an increase in healthcare, transportation, retail, finance (talking of banks and stock markets), media and entertainment, and security and surveillance sectors. Does the 24-hour economy bring along with it benefits?
Benefits that come with the 24-hour economy
The 24-hour economy will certainly help in some areas and aspects, and will also have an effect on the living of people. There will be an increase in the production of goods and services, distribution, labor, and capital increase. Thinking about it also, the 24-hour economy will bring about a rise in employment level, in return increasing the level of income of the citizens.
Ghana Goes Digital
Say you are a layman who doesn't have any idea of what digitalization means, how then could you understand digitalization. Digitalization can be put as a process of transforming the manual process of doing things into digital formats using technology. In this aspect, physical data is converted into digital ones, like transactions, blockchains, mobile banking, e-learning platforms, digital transportation, and many more. Digitalization will reduce costs and manual errors.
What is the Fact on the Ground?
The fact is that the higher Ghanaian population is not really intellectuals, is not everyone that has gone to school. This is not to say that, Ghanaians, are not intelligent, bet you, they are, but most of the old, do not know how to read or write, nor do they really understand English. Come for sure, they would always only want someone to explain what digitalization or 24-hour economy may mean. Just because of politics, and parties, and I come from here or there, individuals would vote for a particular party without understanding any policy.
What do the most Ghanaians want?
To tell you the honest truth, no political party is being criticized for any policy, but both you and I must know what the greater population of Ghanaians want. The economy of Ghana is hard for a lot of its citizens. Many find it challenging to afford a three square meal, settle their debts, clear their utility bills, hospital bills, and low-cost transportation. The daily and gradual rise in the prices of goods and services makes it a hard terrain for the inhabitants to cope with. I am sure, every citizen will be so glad if there is a massive reduction in the cost of living of people.
Conclusion
Looking at it from a standpoint, none of the policies is more important than the other since they both will come with their advantages and disadvantages. What our focus should be on is the lives of the Ghanaian citizens, their concerns, and their troubles. The ruling party must focus more on what the Ghanaian dwellers really want and not want will win them votes into power or please the people. Due to the rise in the dollar against the Ghana cedi, everyone needs to find a way to survive in Ghana's economy. The government helping the people is always the best way to place yourself in their hearts.
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