Two issues last week illustrate something we probably know or observe daily about the country we all dearly love – governing Ghana amidst partisan rancour and trying to solve its socio-economic challenges is no mean task.
I often describe those who step inside the ring of politics, seek elected office in the name of solving these problems, possess a unique form of fortitude that people like me do not have.
Observing the daily battle of making the right policy choices, working with the administrative state that has its challenges for successful implementation of policies and programmes, all amid regular partisan rancour over who gets credit or blame for the country’s conditions (positive or negative) and legitimate citizens demands for governments to meet the basic democracy dividends must be challenging.
But from the President to members of parliament to political appointees, each one was fully aware of this governing dynamic when they stepped up and agreed to serve their beloved country, Ghana.
They, ,therefore, must be up to the task.
When all is said and done, though, how do we avoid the pitfalls of partisan rancour and address the issues?
The energy sector debt
The words of the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor last week, as he spoke to the parliamentary committee on energy, were not very comforting. It revealed a heavily indebted energy sector.
But this picture is not new, as far as I can remember. In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo said the following – “We have inherited a heavily indebted energy sector, with the net debt reaching $2.4 billion as of December 2016.”
President John Mahama, delivering the first SONA of his second presidency, said this, “Mr Speaker, the energy sector faces significant financing challenges primarily due to collection and system losses, non-compliance with the Cash Waterfall Mechanism and legacy debts.
The financing shortfall has risen considerably to approximately US$2.2 billion or GHS 34 billion for 2025, and urgent measures will be needed to reduce it to sustainable levels and ultimately eliminate it.”
In the face of these challenges, there is the usual partisan rancour centred on who is responsible for the current state of the energy sector.
Surely, whatever we are experiencing today is the cumulative effect of various policy choices over several years.
I am no energy expert, but I can appreciate the crippling nature of debt. More importantly, it appears that structural issues are driving this cyclical phenomenon.
The energy sector is intricately linked to other sectors of the economy.
Businesses require a regular, constant supply of electricity and so do citizens.
The key question is, along the value chain of power supply, where are the fault lines and what needs to be done about them? Over to you, policy makers.
The cedi-dollar exchange rate
The country’s currency is doing well. Between the governor of the Central Bank, my good friend Dr Theo Acheampong and Prof. Bokpin, their explanations point to both endogenous (intentional policy choices of government and the Central Bank) and exogenous (weakening of the US dollar) factors driving this positive development.
On this issue as well, partisan rancour is present.
For ruling party partisans, the government must be credited for this positive development, as it reflects sound policy choices.
Partisans of the main opposition party (NPP), however, attribute the positive development to exogenous factors, as well as the benefits of an inherited policy from the previous administration.
Whatever the factors driving this positive development, three things are clear.
First, if the currency is experiencing a depreciation, there is a good chance the government will be held responsible.
Therefore, I can understand why, in an era of appreciation, the government gets credit for it.
Second, the medium-to long-term goal is a sustainable exchange rate at a level that offers markets certainty and allows businesses to plan accordingly without too much disruption.
Lastly, I hope exchange rate politics and lessons from yesteryears are still fresh on the minds of partisans, especially ruling party partisans.
What Next?
Partisan politics is inevitable in a multiparty democracy with regular competitive elections.
Our two main political parties, the NPP and the NDC, shape our discourse on matters of politics, policy and governance.
Partisan debates can be healthy when they are focused on finding and building consensus on critical policy issues, even in the face of deep disagreements.
It is the reason I do not wholly eschew partisan politics.
The governing challenge amidst partisan rancour, though, is this – citizens at the end of the day clamour for basic governing dividends such as regular supply of electricity, clean water, good roads, schools, health facilities, education infrastructure, etc.
The truth is that the presence or absence of these governing dividends does not discriminate against everyday citizens.