Mussa Dankwah of Global InfoAnalytics
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Mussa Dankwah, the Executive Director of Global InfoAnalytics, has revealed that Ghanaians have not accepted the government’s excuses for its poor economic performance, particularly regarding the economy.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has blamed its economic struggles on the virus, later adding the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a contributing factor. According to government spokespersons and President Akufo-Addo, Ghana’s economy was performing well when they took over in 2017 until the pandemic hit in 2020. They have consistently stated that the government would have performed admirably if not for these two global challenges.

However, many argue that the positive signs recorded from 2017 to 2019 were due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement with the previous John Mahama administration, which was still in effect when the NPP took over. The government, however, insists that the economic woes should be blamed on the two global shocks.

Speaking on TV3’s Ghana Decides on Friday, December 6, 2024, Mussa Dankwah noted that the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic have not influenced Ghanaians’ voting decisions, as these factors did not feature in the reasons influencing people’s voting decisions in their surveys.

He explained that while Covid-19 had a significant impact on the 2020 elections, Ghanaians have now discerned the reality from what government communicators said in 2020, which won them the polls. Mr. Dankwah added that the government’s interventions during the pandemic, such as free water and electricity, and presidential addresses, were initially well-received but are no longer seen as the reason for Ghana’s current poor economic state.

The rejection of the two global shocks as excuses extends to individuals in the party’s strongholds, as well as floating voters and supporters of the opposition NDC. “There were so many interventions that won the hearts of Ghanaian voters—free water, free electricity, presidential addresses by the president; it made him look very presidential. Many saw him as a leader of the country. People rallied behind him and gave him their vote,” Dankwah stated.

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“This time around, that’s not the case. Indeed, if you look at the Covid-19 impact on voters, over 70% of voters don’t see Covid-19 as the reason why we are in this mess. Even the base of the party doesn’t believe that. NDC, floating voters, and other members of the party don’t see it as the cause of our problems,” he added.

Mr. Dankwah concluded that if the two reasons were valid, they would have been reflected in the polls conducted so far. “If they have, they should be leading in the polls. They are not even in the polls. It suggests that nobody is buying that. Or if they are, they are very few,” he said.

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