Monday, December 10, 2012

Ghanaian Elections 2012


           After reading Annelise’s paper for the peer critique and seeing Ghana’s election results today, I couldn’t help but notice how relevant her argument is to Ghana’s current situation, and how my previous post about Ghana’s global rise and its label as the fastest growing economy in 2011 (TIME) are highly applicable. There is an interesting dichotomy in Ghana’s elections, because they are democratic and there are two predominant parties, NDC and NPP, which makes the political sphere very modern, but the elections are centered on controlling the oil revenues, which makes it somewhat rudimentary. The combination of being one of the world’s fastest growing economies and being Africa’s most stable democracy (BBC) presents a unique reality, as the growth is currently from the resource sectors, but it said to be invested in sustainable infrastructure and economic growth.
            Much talk on natural resources centers around the natural resource curse that Paul Collier speaks of, and we have seen many countries fail with the economy of natural resources as their foundation, such as Chad and Nigeria. In response, there are many different arguments regarding natural resources. Some advocate to not invest in oil extraction, others say that investment must be conditioned with policies, etc. However, Ghana presents a condition that other African countries do not have: it has a high-quality government that is capable of handling resource rents. These rents often force other countries to succumb to resource dependence, as Nigeria discovered oil many years ago, but it has failed to develop and many of its citizens still live on $1.25 a day (Oxford).
            Ghana not only has the potential, but also the political will to circumvent this resource curse and handle its revenues well. John Mahama of the NDC (who just won the election) has promised that his long-term investments in infrastructure will fuel long-term growth for Ghana and enable them to escape reliance on the resource sector (Madison), while Akufo-Addo of the NPP claimed that he would use resource wealth to offer free education. Recent news claims that the NDC has secured the election with 50.7% of the vote (ModernGhana), which, according to statements made by both candidates, will ensure that oil revenue is invested well.
            However, news also states that because of the extremely close election, there is much tension in the country (ModernGhana). This presents another interesting dichotomy, because although Ghana is considered to be Africa’s most stable democracy, high tensions over this election could potentially lead to some destabilization. While it is a positive thing to have high voter participation and civic engagement, this election had an 80% voter turnout (BBC), so citizens are extremely impassioned about the election results and could become violent, according to some. This high civic participation does indicate that citizens are concerned about government action and also have a say “in how government will use oil revenues in the future” (Madison), so the Ghanaian government is held accountable to citizens.
            This fact alone prevents the natural resource curse, because in authoritarian regimes with resource rents, political leaders are not held accountable to citizens, but in the Ghanaian democracy, citizens and leaders hold each other accountable. Despite the fact that there is raising tension surrounding these elections, both parties claim that they will use oil revenues for investment in a sustainable economy. The elections may produce short-term unrest, but as long as the resource industry is still utilized to produce a sustainable economy, Ghana will remain to be a predominant African success story.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20660228

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