Here is what some Ghanaians Want the Government to do For them

Even a 5-year-old child can testify to the fact that the cost of living in Ghana at the moment is very high. The economy is crippling and social vices are on the rise.

These conditions led the youth in the country to start demonstrating on Twitter, begging for the country to be “fixed,” some getting backlashed in the process.

We took it upon ourselves to ask a few Ghanaians to pour out their hearts and tell us what exactly they want the government to do for them and what ideas they have to give the government to help with the reform.

Our focus was on the youth because they are the country’s human resource or most efficient labor force. Here is what they have to say;

Some of these answers have been edited for clarity.

Teacher, 29
“Teachers should be paid well. You know I’ve been working for almost three years, and my net salary is not up to GHS 2,000? We should be given transportation allowance (for those who teach at schools without bungalows).

We should be given rent allowances. If the government wants to see I.C.T triumph and change this economy, it should equip teachers with the necessary materials to help teach the subject.

The book I use to teach E- i.c.t was purchased with my own money( and the Ghana Education Service does not approve the book). The government should construct additional I.C.T laboratories for schools offering elective I.C.T.”

Pharmacist, 25
” I feel the government has to do what they have to do. Just as they expect us to pay taxes and all that. Many things are not right in the system because the government is not doing a lot of things right.

We see continuous degradation of our roads, transport, and economic conditions. The government has to stand up and make things right and better.”

Food Vendor, 35
“The price of things are very high. We those who are selling food are not making much profit.

We buy expensive foodstuffs, so we sell the food in small portions, and customers feel cheated, but it is not our fault.

Government has to subsidize the price of fuel so that the cost of items can reduce”.

Shop Keeper, 19
“How about the government supporting creativity?. Because after school, they accept people with good results into reputable universities yet, most of them lack the creative skill to do the work, and the creative ones are left behind because their examination results aren’t very pleasing.

To be clear, some people are not academically sound, but they are good on the field, and they should be given equal attention”.

Barber, 25
“I want the government to help me in my field of beauty and cosmetology. If the government can help me with funds to open a chain of barbering shops in and outside the country, I will be grateful because that is what I am also good at”.

Nurse, 27
“The rate at which nurses are not paid for about six months to one year before they get paid is too bad.

Because looking at being posted to a different region and not having anyone around you, you will have to rent, and if the place is far from the hospital, you will have to board a car, and all that involves money. How do we do all that if we are not paid?”

Uber Driver, 33
“The government needs to provide jobs for the youth. I am a university graduate who has been reduced to an uber driver. I have been looking for a job since I finished doing my national service.

I owe a student loan at the moment, and from time to time, I receive calls and alerts to settle my debt, but I don’t have a well-paid job. I can barely feed myself. I am not the only person with the same problem. Many of the individuals I graduated with are either jobless or find themselves in another field, different from what they studied in school”.

Teacher, 37
“The government is paying some individuals a little too much. People who do not deserve that much salary. They should rather pay those who are actually working hard and impacting society. The rest should go into infrastructure and social amenities, and it’s that simple”.

Trader, 56
“The price of commodities is very high, and it’s unacceptable. We can barely feed ourselves and our children. The government of Ghana doesn’t give stipends to people who have grown to some age and can hardly work.

So if they want us to work with our weak bodies, they should at least make it a bit easier for us. Prices of items should go down. They should provide jobs for our children and stop focusing on unnecessary things that will not benefit the citizenry in any way”.

Takeaway

From the few comments we have gathered, it is evident that the Ghanaian catena needs are ranging from more jobs to comfortability. The government needs to provide more jobs for the youth.

It is very disappointing to know that the forms of most security services in Ghana don’t even come out for people to buy anymore, but they are secretly recruiting people.

You will distribute application forms and curriculum vitae to numerous companies, and none of them will call you unless you know someone “big” or renowned.

The system is chocked, and graduates are now reduced to uber drivers. Most nurses have to sell clothes and other items to fend for themselves because they are not getting paid on time. So it is evident that even those who have jobs have problems with payment.

Prices of fuel increase almost every month, putting pressure on the price of commodities, which then causes the high cost of living. A high cost of living for some people means engaging in malpractices and social vices.

The government needs to focus on more pressing issues like providing job opportunities, investing im creativity and technology, increase the salaries of workers, especially if they are going to keep raising taxes.

They need to pay attention to roads, hospitals, and schools. These things have been said times without number, but we are still at square one. If the government is not ready to help us, the question is, what are we to do as Ghanaians?