I
don't really understand all what these experts talk about when
discussing the economy. All I know is that at the beginning of 2013,
Fan Yogo (Ice cream) was 50p and by the end of 2013 it was GhȻ1.00.
The price of everything went up by at least 100% and yet at the end
of the year, smug faced politicians were all over the radio and TV
telling us how good the economy was.
I
knew there was going to be trouble in 2007 when the cedi was re-denominated. The problem is that Ghanaians hate any form of
mathematics that isn't a simple multiplication or division by the
number 10. Decimals just freak us out! The conversion from the old
currency to new was;
(Old
cedi)/10000 = new cedi
The
first problem with this was the Ȼ50
and Ȼ20
coins disappeared and the Ȼ100
coin became the 1p which was the smallest denomination. The 1p was
discriminated against right from the beginning. It created the
uncomfortable problem of having prices like GhȻ2.7
something, as I said, Ghanaian absolutely loathe. People immediately
started rounding prices to the nearest multiple of 10. Even the 5p
coin was discriminated against. Prices started jumping ridiculously
no thanks to this. Back then, the cedi the value of the cedi to the
dollar ($1) was around Ȼ10,000
(GhȻ1.00).
I
remember then President Kufuor on TV smiling and making a rather dry
joke about how the cedi was now equal to the dollar. Yeah, right, all
we had to do was drop four significant zeros.
I used to be able to feel good about myself when I gave Ȼ5000 collection at church or when an Uncle gave me Ȼ10,000.00. Now Ȼ5000 is 50p and even beggars ask for GhȻ1.00 (which used to be Ȼ10,000) with straight faces. 50p is what you pay for the shortest distance by public transport. I'm not even that old and I am already missing the 'Good Old Days'.
Right
now, the 1p coin is a critically endangered species that is not legal
tender anywhere except Shoprite in the Accra Mall. There, everything
costs an annoying Something-something and 99p. They always give you
the impotent 1p coin giving a whole new meaning to “Change is
constant”.
ten 1p coins is not equal to 10p, just 10 worthless coins, sad RT @bisola_inexile: My 1 pesewa coins. Still growing. pic.twitter.com/QmAFq3g0ba
— Efo Dela (@Amegaxi) February 22, 2014
Fast
forward to the not so distant future passed, 2013 and the 'new' cedi
was a mess! The price of fuel went up almost every two weeks and with
it the price of everything else. Utility tariffs went up but
utilities services became irregular. The only thing that stayed
constant was salaries! Minimum wage is officially pegged at GhȻ5.24(currently
just under $2)
but
many people earn far less than that.
The
cedi depreciates against the Dollar everyday so people stopped
quoting prices of anything which mattered (which is everything) in
Dollars. Rent, School fees and even in some case medical bills. For a
while one couldn't be sure what the official currency of Ghana was
anymore. The dollar at is now Ȼ2.41 (Feb 14, 2014)
Can
someone please explain to me how in one of the top Cocoa producing countries in the world the average person can't afford to buy
chocolate or chocolate products? All the explanations I've heard so
far make no sense to me. That's like telling me Bill Gates' kid can't afford a computer because Microsoft only make the
Operating System but not the Hardware. Any justification makes no
sense. But that is Ghana for you. Nothing makes an iota of sense so
when oil was discovered in 'commercial' quantities and we were
promised a better life by these politicians, I laughed.
With
the economy shamelessly wallowing in filthy, people started looking
answers everywhere. That it when things moved from frustrating to
ridiculous. Ghanaians are a very religious and superstitious bunch so
of cause, every problem should have a spiritual root.
The
National Women’s Organizer of the Ruling NDC, Anita Desooso, went
on radio and blamed the fall of the cedi on dwarfs, black magic andother malicious evil spirits. *Pause*; Yep, she actually said that.
So the abysmal state of the economy wasn't due to the
mismanagement of successive governments and most recently by her
party the NDC? Seems Legit. Next, famous Nigerian Pastor asked
Ghanaians to pray for the cedi because he foresaw a massive economicdown turn for Ghana. Wait, what?! It was going to get worse? Who could
have predicted that? It is not as we knew that things were bad. Then
Superstar Man-of-God Archibishop Duncan William made the news (once
again) when he “commanded the cedi to rise”. Everyday a new
Spiritual leader pops up with some expert advice or solution for the
demise of the cedi. The cedi's plight is that bad. Most recently, one
Pastor actually threatened to drag the ruling party (NDC) to court if the party fails to offer him the position of
Spiritual and Special Advisor to the President. I couldn't make this
up even if I tried.
We
await the Lazarus moment of the cedi, it past the customary 3 days
required for resurrection but with all these men of God praying, we
remain optimistic.
