Ghana heading in wrong direction - Survey
At least 70 per cent of Ghanaians believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, a study has revealed.
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The survey, which was conducted by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and covered the period July 2 to 18, painted the disillusionment of Ghanaians regarding the overall management of the economy.
Speaking at a press conference to present the findings, a senior researcher fellow at CDD, Mr Daniel Armah Attoh, said Ghanaians were worried about their own living conditions and the danger the worsening economy posed to their lives.
Economy
According to the report, the government “receives poor grades from a clear majority of Ghanaians across a range of micro-indicators — narrowing income gaps, keeping prices down, creating jobs, improving the living standard of the poor and managing the economy”.
The survey was conducted from a sample size of 2,400 adult Ghanaians selected from 163 districts and 291 towns and villages.
Majority of the respondents rated the government as “having performed very or fairly badly in the delivery of a range of economic and social goods”.
Crime Prevention
Regarding the issue of crime prevention, the study found that Ghanaians were happy with the government’s fight against crime.
On the government’s performance, Mr Attoh said, respondents were of the view that it was “somewhat positive with respect to crime and violence prevention where a minority four in 10 offers a negative assessment”.
Ghanaians did not mince words when they suggested that the government’s handling of issues such as unemployment, electricity and education was not encouraging.
They were of the view that another political party could do a better job.
On the Presidency
In evaluating the performance of the President, there was a split, with nearly half of the respondents approving the overall job performance of President Mahama, while the other half thought otherwise.
Issues ahead of 2016 polls
Regarding the issues that would prove a decider in their choice of candidate, “a solid majority of Ghanaians claim the following factors will have a great deal or some influence on the choices of candidates or parties in the 2016 polls — bad roads, government corruption, power outages, high prices of foodstuffs, access to medical care, use of abusive language and posturing of politicians”.
However, Ghanaians said gifts, the religious affiliation of candidates and region of origin of candidates would play no role in deciding their preferred candidates.
NDC reacts
The Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Koku Anyidoho, reacting to the study, conceded that Ghana’s economy was, indeed, facing challenges.
According to him, “Ghanaians are gnashing their teeth because there are serious challenges and President Mahama has not run away from it”.
He said the survey would not have any impact on the government because President Mahama had been “honest and candid with the mandate”.
He indicated that although the NDC had severed ties with the CDD, the government would work assiduously to bring respite to Ghanaians.
Mr Anyidoho said beyond surveys, Ghanaians were looking for leadership and President Mahama was up to the task. Source: Joy FM/Ghanaweb
