On Democracy

A friend came to visit us in Accra.? She runs a farm in Accra and had come to town for a training meeting.? We wanted to get some stuff for the kids, and passed through the supermarket on our way home.? First thing that caught her eye, was the cabbages in the large display area in the supermarket lobby.? They were smaller than hers in Wa, and 10 times more expensive.? I watched as she went around taking photographs of the various fruits.? I could almost taste her discomfort as she went from stand to stand. Her flash did not stop going off.

As we left the mall, we continued to chat, but there were unspoken questions as we parted.? Her farm was just an hour’s flight away from Accra, in the same country, and here we were, walking through a mall with grossly overpriced vegetables.? Yes I knew they were out of season, I knew these were some of the best cabbages in Accra… but still. 10 times? There has to be something wrong with this.

These have been hard times, and sometimes I wonder how long the difficulties will persist. I know that there are certain uncontrollable factors, but I also know that there are other artificial factors, that will continue to make things worse if nothing is done. This is the point of democracy, it is not just to make suffrage available to all, but also to relieve suffering by equalising the access to resource. We have not grown as a country, if in 2024 people are starving because they cannot afford food.

I pray that as we cement the cement the credentials of our democracy this year, we will be reminded about the true responsibilities of the free.? The privilege of being able to choose the ones who lead us, must not be sacrificed on the altar of political monetisation.? As the processes of electoral freedom are conducted we must be reminded of the real reason for our freedom.? The actualisation of our potential as a people, can only be achieved through a freedom of choice away from the tyranny of dictatorship and colonialism.? But this freedom can only be coupled with the responsibility of a people committed to their posterity, and the future of their children.? It must be in the DNA of our governmental processes, to grow the blessing? of our Ghanaianness, so that the child of tomorrow is better endowed than the old man of today.

This year, I have seen the gap between those who have something, and those who don’t, grow.? The bus stops have been more crowded, the people walking along the road are more, the meat selection at the waakye seller is narrower, but the five star restaurants are as crowded as ever.? In the night, the neon of nightlife glows non-stop.? The aroma of the high protein meals, waft unto the streets where the have-nots sleep. Nothing has happened to reduce the purchasing power of some.? Not the inflation.? Not the cedi depreciation. Nothing.

There must be a way that the food from Wa, can get to Accra, and be as affordable to the kenkey seller as its is to the Kente buyer.? It should not be wishful thinking to want the freedom of leadership choice, to manifest in financial capacity to simply live. It should just be the natural expectation of the free.? If we have chosen democracy, then we must will its benefits into reality.

If democracy wins, then we win.