President Akufo-Addo
Majority of Ghanaians still have high hopes in the ability of the Akufo-Addo government to better their lot in its second term in office.
According to a survey conducted by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), majority of Ghanaians are optimistic that in the next four years, the government will perform “much better or better” in addressing public/social service delivery.
The areas where the citizens expect the government to perform better include addressing educational needs; providing a reliable supply of electricity; maintaining roads and bridges; providing water and sanitation services and protecting the human rights and civil liberties of all citizens.
Numbers
A whopping 45 per cent of the population sampled expressed optimism that educational issues would be handled “much better or better”, while about 31 per cent said they believe it would be “much worse or worse”.
Meanwhile, some 21 per cent said the government’s performance in the education sector in the second term would remain same as the first term.
Regarding the provision of reliable supply of electricity, some 44 per cent have high hopes in the government to do better in the sector, while 24 per cent think the government’s performance in the second term will not be any different from its first term record. About 30 per cent expressed the pessimism that the government may perform “worse or much worse” in the second term.
Regarding maintenance of roads and bridges, some 44 per cent expressed hope of things getting better, with 24 per cent saying things would remain the same while 30 per cent said things would get “worse or much worse”.
On the provision of water and sanitation services, about 43 per cent expressed optimism of things getting better; 27 per cent said things would remain the same, while 28 per cent expect things to deteriorate.
At least, some 39 per cent of the sampled population expect the government’s record on protecting the human rights and civil liberties of all citizens to soar high in the second term; 28 per cent expect same level of performance; while 29 per cent are of the view that things will get worse.
Lows
However, the government scored low in the areas of reducing crime, fighting corruption in government and promoting collaboration between the ruling and opposition parties.
On reducing crime, 41 per cent expect the government to perform “worse or much worse” than its first term, while 35 per cent expect “better or much better” performance, with 21 per cent saying things may remain the same.
On fighting corruption, 47 per cent expect things to get worse; 21 per cent say things will remain the same, while 30 per cent still have high hopes that things will be better.
On promoting collaboration between the ruling and opposition parties, 32 per cent expect things to get worse, while a closely related figure of 29 per cent expect things to remain the same. Just about 25 per cent think things may get better.
Survey
The survey sampled 2,400 randomly selected adult citizens from all 16 regions of Ghana. Data was collected from 23 May to 3 June, 2021. It used face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice, and the regional sample sizes were picked based on the 2019 adult population projections of the various regions.
The survey sought to gauge citizens’ opinions on a number of issues, including respondent’s interpretation of the outcome of the 2020 elections, particularly the parliamentary one; expectations of the likely impact of the current “hung” parliament; expectations of the likely impact of the election of NDC person as Speaker of Parliament; and expectations regarding the performance of the NPP government in the next 4 years.
