Prayer, politics, poverty reduction
It is the end of another year and for me, the end of an era.
My four-decades-long engagement with the study of politics in Ghana began in the mid-1980s.
I first visited Ghana in 1985, researching for a PhD, which was successfully completed in 1988. In 2024, Digibooks of Tema published my book, Revolution and Democracy in Ghana: The Politics of Jerry Rawlings, which updates the PhD to provide insights into the current state of Ghana’s democracy.
Over the last two years, I have been researching and writing a book about religion and politics in Ghana.
Land For Sale
The book will be published in 2025, and marks the latest stage of my four-decades-long interest in Ghana.
I first visited Ghana at a time of political turmoil, in the midst of Jerry John Rawlings’ revolution. Rawlings came to power via a coup in December 1981 determined to end the tragedy of endemic corruption and poor governance.
His takeover was followed by a struggle for ideological dominance: on the one hand, leftist, socialist oriented ideas; on the other, neoliberal strategies.
The latter won, and from 1983 Ghana’s economy was under the control of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
When I first visited Ghana in the mid-1980s, around 50 per cent of Ghanaians were Christians; today, that figure has risen to over 70 per cent.
In 1985, churches were relatively politically unimportant; today, successive presidents acknowledge the contributions of Ghana’s Christian churches to political, social and economic development.
The Daily Graphic of December 24, 2024 has a front-page story: ‘On Christmas Eve … work hard for country’. In the accompanying story, prominent Christian leaders exhort Ghanaians to ‘bury their differences and work for the common good of the country’.
These are fine sentiments and the Christian leaders are to be applauded for their message of unity and progress.
Is it God or humans who are responsible for harmony, burying differences and Ghana’s common good?
Until recently, God appeared to be smiling on Ghana. In 2019, the IMF described Ghana as ‘the world’s fastest-growing economy’, with ‘skyrocketing’ growth.
Five years ago, Ghana was acknowledged as the world’s fastest-growing economy. Did economic success stem from God’s favour or from good governance and a shift towards sustainable development?
Economic growth
Today, God appears to be looking less favourably on Ghana; economic growth is weak and poverty shows no sign of abating.
Following a significant reduction in poverty rates in the 1990s and 2000s, estimated poverty levels have remained constant or increased in some parts of Ghana.
Between 2012 and 2016, the percentage of people living under the international poverty line of US$2.15 per day (2017 PPP) decreased only slightly, from 25.7 per cent to 25.2 per cent.
Stubborn poverty is a continuing challenge, and many Ghanaians do not perceive improvements to their economic situation: in a recent survey, 72 per cent of Afrobarometer survey respondents in Ghana said their present living conditions were very bad or fairly bad.
Poverty disproportionately affects Ghana’s northernmost regions, where ecological conditions, poor infrastructure and reduced service delivery keep around half of the population under the national poverty line.
School enrolment rates are lower, malnutrition is more prevalent, and communities are more vulnerable to economic variability and climate shocks, including droughts and floods.
Urban poverty also poses a problem: more than 50 per cent of Ghanaians live in urban areas, and rapid urbanisation has contributed to difficult living conditions in population centres.
Experts warn that the proportion of Ghana’s population living under the national poverty line could increase by two to six per cent by 2030 due to climate change vulnerability and economic dependence on unsustainable agricultural and extractive industries.
Good governance
Ghana’s unity and progress can be measured by economic advances and the reduction of poverty.
Ghana’s Christian leaders have a simple strategy to hasten progress: pray more, give more money to the church, behave impeccably, according to Christian values and, once every four years, dutifully vote for a president and new parliament.
But what is the role of those with political power?
When Ghana progresses economically and Ghanaians’ well-being increases, including poverty reduction, then it is because of good governance, not prayer.
When government works effectively and fulfils manifesto promises, progress is clear: there is much evidence that effective government policies lead to beneficial outcomes for all.
It may well be, however, that many of Ghana’s 20+ million Christians believe their church leaders when they say that prayer is the way to exhort God to look favourably on Ghana and hasten national progress.
Seven in 10 Ghanaians are today Christians and many hold their religious leaders in high esteem.
Many Ghanaians, on the other hand, regard the government less favourably, believing that those in power are self-serving and without wider concern for national progress and unity.
If prayer alone is not the answer to Ghana’s economic and political woes, what else might Ghanaians do to achieve national progress?
How to encourage government to perform better, use the country’s abundant natural resources more productively, stimulate improved economic growth, and reduce poverty?
Political and economic progress is the result of purposeful government policies. Prayer can’t hurt – but it is not enough on its own to ensure national progress.
Government performs best when it is legitimate and responsive, supported by a vigilant and purposeful civil society, and held to account by an objective and unbiased media.
What is the chance that in 2025 Ghana will develop further these characteristics?
The writer is an Emeritus Professor of Politics, London Metropolitan University, UK.
Email: tsjhayn1@gmail.com.