Dear Ghana,
‘Where you at?’ How are you doing?
The saying is ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’ and right now, my ‘back is broken.’
Let me tell you what happened. I will add that, it might seem trivial but it’s always the little things which matter.
So, I went to buy tea for myself. I got to the supermarket and the brand I like wasn’t available so I decided to buy Lipton tea. There was no Lipton tea too, to my surprise. At this point I had already spent a long time there so I grabbed the next box of tea I came across.
I got home, put the kettle on, opened the box and I literally wanted to cry. I had actually picked up a box of tea leaves as opposed to tea bags. If you love tea the way I do, then I’m sure you can relate to my sadness.
Honestly, this meant I would have to brew the tea for a longer period of time and I didn’t even remember having a strainer anywhere in the house.
All this happened yesterday! I drank the brewed tea which I had managed to strain eventually. As all this was going on, I kept wondering why there wasn’t any Lipton tea on the supermarket shelves. I know Lipton is the most common tea brand everyone drinks in Ghana. Therefore, I’m still wondering what most people are drinking instead of tea.
This is still my thought process today, on Day 2 of my ‘brewing tea’ experience. I’m not amused!
This ‘Lipton tea story’ compounded an already existing ‘shortage experience’ I encountered a few months ago. Then, it related to ‘Blue Band Spread for bread.’
I went to buy Blue Band margarine (I like the taste of the spread) and there was none at all anywhere. I even asked one of the store employees how they ate their bread, since I know that it is the most common 'spread for bread' in Ghana. His answer was that, he ate it without any spread. I was sad to hear that. I also know that, Blue Band margarine is the most common brand of margarine used for baking etc in Ghana. Therefore how was baking being done?
These are just two examples of every day products which I found had become scarce. So I ask myself, how the ‘average man in the street’ is coping on a daily basis. ‘Where is the voice of the voiceless?’
Now, that’s not all I have to tell you about. There is a lot more and I will do my best to summarize it.
The prices of everything skyrocketed, in the shortest time period, including food. The question therefore remains, as to how ‘the average man’ is coping.
The saying which comes to mind is ‘a hungry man is an angry man,' However, I believe ‘your children’ shouldn’t get so hungry to the point where they become angry. What do you think?
So far, it might seem as though I’m talking about the little things in life so I will just make reference to two ‘big things.’
Firstly, the electricity supply or the inconsistent electricity supply, or rather the lack of electricity on numerous occasions. Admittedly, this is not a new problem.
Unfortunately, I suffer from PTSD due to the rampant power outages which have occurred in the past and still continue to occur.
Imagine how many accidents and injuries some of ‘your children’ have sustained in the night, when they have had to grope in the dark and try to find a source of light, to brighten up their surroundings and provide them with visibility.
The biggest issue in relation to electricity in my view, is the fact that your 'developed contemporaries’ do not have interrupted power supply of any kind. I’m sure that is the category you would eventually like to associate yourself with. Or could I be mistaken?
I don’t want to take up all your time reading this, so I will hasten to 'wrap up' with my second ‘big thing,' E-Levy.
Honestly, I was very excited with the upward trajectory of the ‘mobile money market.’ I thought it was a positive step towards nearing a ‘cashless society’ and enjoying all the subsequent benefits of such a society.
Then ‘boom’ E-Levy arrived. Now, how can I say this without offending you?
I honestly believe that, in weighing the pros and cons of instituting this E-Levy, the cons outweigh the pros.
Most of 'your children' who benefited from the ‘mobile money market’ fall in the lower income bracket. Now, with this taxation, how can they afford to transfer money as often as they used to? They will naturally have to revert to the days of ‘pre-mobile money’ and then there will be a shortfall in the anticipated tax revenue.
What saddens me the most, is that as a result of this E-Levy, we have moved further away from ever reaching a ‘near-cashless society,' not to talk of a ‘cashless society.’
I remember a quote from my poem ‘Press On. Inch Forward!’ which I wrote in 2019 to encourage you to keep going until ‘success smiles at you.’
This poem is in the literary collection, ‘Simply Poetic’ by Sophia Asmah. Available at Amazon.com at the links below:
Paperback – www.amazon.com/dp/9988298900
The good news is that I know the tourists still love to visit and see your beautiful sites. The weather is great and there is still peace and stability.
Finally, I hope to hear from you soon and in the meantime, I’m still wondering ‘where you at?!’
Regards.
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