Every year has its defining moments and 2022 has been no exception. The country has had a few protests against the government this year.
The main social problems in Ghana that citizens protested against include unemployment, corruption, illiteracy and inaccessibility of quality education, poverty.
2022 saw arguably the biggest mobilization and uprising against any government in the 4th Republic in agitations and protests.
Arise Ghana protest against economic hardship
On June 28, 2022, the Police clashed with hundreds of demonstrators in Accra protesting against fuel price hikes, a tax on electronic payments, and other levies.
Ghanaians in recent months have been feeling the pinch of record inflation and the fallout of the Ukraine war amid cuts in government spending to avoid a full-blown debt crisis.
Hundreds on Tuesday joined an authorized two-day protest led by the local lobby group « Arise Ghana » to denounce economic hardships, on social media.
Police responded with teargas, rubber bullets, and hot water when the crowd veered off the proposed route, senior Arise Ghana member Sammy Gyamfi told Reuters by telephone, saying it was different from a previously agreed route.
The police said they were forced to use teargas and water cannons to restore order after demonstrators threw stones and burnt tires on the road.
‘Kume Preko’ demo led by Martin Kpebu
Pressure groups, Economic Fighters League and Fix the Country movement have joined private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu for the Kume Preko (#NanaMustGo) street protest at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange’s Obra Spot.
Martin Kpebu called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his Vice Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to step down from office.
The group protested the economic crisis and what they say was damage to the economy by the two leading political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the years in power.
Kpebu stated that the economic crisis facing the country should have been a sufficient reason for the president to have resigned.
The depreciation of the currency in the last few months had never occurred before, he added.
Angry youth demonstrate over unemployment in Obuasi
In June this year, unemployed youth besieged the streets of Obuasi in the Ashanti Region to protest continued joblessness as they demand immediate intervention from the government.
The protest is aimed at pressuring President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration to do more to create jobs for the youth and bring down living costs in the country.
Some of the jobless youth who demonstrated said they have really been struggling to make ends meet since they completed tertiary education.
Wearing red-armed bands, marching through the principal streets of Obuasi, the angry youth from mining communities said: « We are hungry and need jobs ».
The leader of the demonstration, Emmanuel Kofi Ayamga said they were engaged in community mining but Anglo Gold Ashanti, a mining company, stopped them.
He indicated that even though the mining company is located in the area, it does not employ them.
Police fire tear gas at Krom Ayɛ Hye demo
Police personnel fired tear gas on agitated Arise Ghana protestors during their demonstration at the Obra Spot near the Kwame Nkrumah interchange.
It is unclear what sparked the chaos at the scene, but some protestors pelted stones at the police and their vehicles.
Police have said they were attacked and said the protestors’ behaviour is unacceptable and must be condemned.
NaBCo recruits demonstrate over unpaid allowances
Some Ghanaians employed under the Nation Builders Corps (NaBCo) who have not been paid staged a protest to demand 10 months of unpaid allowances.
The beneficiaries complained that life has become unbearable due to the worsening economic conditions.
They appealed to the government to make funds available to the Secretariat for onward disbursement and presented a petition to the Vice President.
Pulse
