Scores of Ghanaians over the weekend demonstrated in Spain as part of moves to push the Akufo-Addo government to fix challenges facing the country.
Protesters held placards with inscriptions such as “fix the country now”, “stop corruption”, “we need good leaders” among others.
The demonstrators are unhappy about what they describe as bad governance, youth exploitation, unemployment, killer taxes, high cost of living and corruption.
They are also unhappy about seeming exploitation by the Ghana Embassy in Spain for charging high fees for Spain.
Meanwhile, conveners of the #FixTheCountry protest are planning to hit the street to register their displeasure over challenges in the country.
Background
Scores of Ghanaians took to social media a few weeks ago to protest against what they describe as bad governance and the high cost of living in the country.
The complaints followed increases in prices for fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), data and phone calls.
We’re fixing economy
The government is set to roll out eight interventions under the GhanaCARES “Obataanpa” programme as part of measures to boost the economy.
Addressing the media in Accra on Sunday 9 May, the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta said the initiatives will be in the area of “health, agriculture, tourism, trade, digitisation, science and technology, housing and financial services.”
Ofori-Atta said the government is aware of the new social media campaign dubbed #FixtheCountry aimed at drawing officials’ attention to what the conveners describe as “a failure on the part of successive governments to improve the lives of the citizenry”.
“I acknowledge that these are challenging times for many of us, and we, like almost all the countries in the world, are living through rough weather. A time that has put a burden on the necessities of lives and livelihoods never like before in recent history. Unfortunately, these external shocks have heightened Ghana’s perennial problems, which we are committed to address.
“In extraordinary times, you should expect exceptional leadership from your Government. I truly believe we cannot ensure exceptional leadership without a collective effort. So, I commend the youth for calling on Government and leaders to be at their best. This shows the patriotism of the Ghanaian youth, echoing the President’s call to Be a Citizen, Not a Spectator. You have elected us to solve the problems that face this country. We will continue to work with you and other stakeholders to do just that,” Ofori-Atta said.
Fred Dzakpata
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