Struggling economy and youth unemployment weigh heavily on voters as Ghana heads to the polls

At JJ Rawlings Avenue in the area of Adenta in Ghana’s capital Accra, 36-year-old Rabiatu Akamim readied meals for her customers. Two years ago, she traded her underpaying corporate communication job to focus on her food joint.

Young entrepreneurs like Akamim are struggling with Ghana’s soaring fuel prices, rising food costs and high utility bills. By the end of 2022, inflation in Ghana had shot up to a staggering 54%. The economy remains a top issue as Ghanaians head to the polls this week.

“We’ve had to increase our prices as well, to meet the rising cost of things,” Akamim said. “Because of that, we’ve lost some customers, but we are still in it trying to survive.”

Her attempts to secure a bank loan, however, have been futile. Without assets like land or property, she cannot meet the stringent security requirements that banks demand.

Though inflation has dropped, the cost of living in Ghana remains high, and prices continue to skyrocket. The government’s finances have been stretched so thin that it had to turn to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.

Meanwhile, youth frustration is mounting over corruption, nepotism and soaring unemployment. The median age in Ghana is just 20 years old. Tired of waiting for change, many young people are heading abroad in search of better opportunities.

Akamim had chosen to stay, putting her hopes in her business, but now, even her once-thriving food joint is hanging on by a thread. 

“If I sit in the house, manna won’t fall from heaven,” she said — a religious reference. She says she’s had to work despite health issues to be able to pay her employees and feed her family.

Across town in Teshie, Elselund Ewudzie-Sampson, who runs Big Samps Market, a grocery delivery service, feels the pressure, too.

She said that, until recently, prices kept changing every time they went to the market — even after customers had already paid for their orders.

“During those times, we could make losses of minimum 500 cedis a day,” she said.

That’s approximately $34, adding up to nearly $700 in a month.

“So, the impact on us is great. If a small business is making that kind of loss in a month, it can be very discouraging,” she added.

So, Ewudzie-Sampson adapted her business model by sourcing directly from farms, instead of  the market, to mitigate rising costs.

“These things, they make you strategize more, they make you think a lot out of the box, but it’s hard,” she explained. 

For both Akamim and Ewudzie-Sampson, the future remains uncertain.

A pivotal election

As Ghana gears up for elections on Dec. 7, the economy and youth unemployment are still the country’s most pressing issues. With more than 18 million people eligible to vote, and 276 parliamentary seats at stake, the results of this election will be pivotal in shaping the nation’s future.

This election is particularly significant. Since a return to democratic rule in 1992, Ghana has earned a reputation for peaceful transitions of power. Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo is stepping down after completing his two-term limit, and no party in the country’s history has ever won a third consecutive term. But the ruling New Patriotic Party is determined to break that streak.

Ideologically, the NPP leans center-right, championing free markets and private-sector growth, while the National Democratic Congress, the main opposition, embraces center-left policies with a focus on social welfare and state-led development.

Both presidential candidates have made fixing the economy and creating jobs central to their campaigns. Former President John Mahama of the NDC is seeking a comeback after losing in 2016 and 2020, while current Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia could become Ghana’s first Muslim president.

Campaign promises

Mahama, 66, has proposed a “24-hour economy” strategy to boost productivity by encouraging businesses to operate around the clock. He aims to remove certain taxes and support small businesses to stimulate growth.

On the other hand, Bawumia, 61, touts the government’s success in already creating 2 million jobs, and has promised another million through digitalization and industrialization.

But despite the government’s claims, many people, especially youth, remain disillusioned with rising unemployment and a depreciation of the cedi against the dollar.

Ewudzie-Sampson, with the grocery delivery service, remains skeptical about the leading candidates. 

“We don’t need a lot of promises. We need a few promises with very strategic timelines,” she said. 

A recent Afrobarometer survey shows a large majority of Ghanaians believe the country is off track, with 80% saying the economy has been badly managed.

28-year-old James Adusei, from the Fadama neighborhood in Accra, finished nursing school four years ago but remains unemployed. He said he’s uncertain about voting.

“The NDC’s 24-hour economy plan isn’t clear to me, but I don’t trust the NPP either,” he said. “Vice President Bawumia has led the economic team for eight years, yet no jobs and the Ghana cedi, too, has depreciated. Now he’s trying to distract us with digitalization.”

Kwasi Afriyie with the National Youth Employment Agency, however, defends the NPP government’s focus on digitalization.

“If any government sits down and says, ‘The world is moving forward, I want to get into the digital economy with AI coming onboard and people [potentially losing] their jobs, [so] let’s be conscious of it and see how we can create jobs through that,’ you can’t have any better government in the job creation agenda than that,” he said.

Lord Mensah, an economics professor at the University of Ghana’s business school, says a combination of both approaches may be the answer.

“From where I sit, I think that’s the way to go and I will always back the 24-hour economy because it’s going to be something out of normal. Also remember It’s not just a standalone idea — it ties in with digitizing the economy, and I think that’s the way to go,” he said.

“Whoever wins must honor the IMF bailout terms and implement policies that encourage private sector growth,” he added.

The youth vote

As the election draws near, the youth vote will be crucial. Albert Kofi Arhin, an analyst at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, said young Ghanaians must not only show up to vote, but also believe their vote matters.

“By voting, you’re shaping the future you want to see about the economy and job creation. Staying out of the process only gives others the power to decide for you,” he explained.

Still, undecided voters like Adusei are not convinced.

“If I saw that leaders were serious about improving things for the youth, I’d definitely vote,” he said. “But with the election so close, I still don’t see enough being done to show we’re a priority.”

A candidate needs more than half the total votes to win, or the top two must face a runoff election later in December. For now, the polls are favoring Mahama over his main challenger.