With rising inflation of 40.1 percent and a widening poverty gap of about 34 percent, ActionAid has launched a five-year strategic plan dubbed ‘Active Citizenship for Social Justice’ to track and monitor the IMF programmes for Ghana.
The strategic plan calls for the active participation of citizens in the demand for social justice for the less privileged to reduce poverty and gender inequality.
The Country Strategic Paper (CSP) VII has the goal of building a just, feminist, and resilient Ghana, offering equitable opportunities for all its citizens.
According to the organisation, it is an open truth that Ghana’s economy entered a full-blown macroeconomic crisis in 2022 on the back of pre-existing imbalances and external shocks.
Ghanaian households have been under pressure from high inflation and slowing economic growth.
Inflation, which has been driven by food prices, remained elevated at 40.1% in August 2023.
This, among others, clearly indicates that poverty has worsened.
According to ActionAid Country Director, John Nkaw, “the five-year plan focuses on three priorities of social importance. The three – green economy and resilient livelihood, women’s rights and decent work, active citizenship, accountability, and gender responsive public service – will be the topmost priorities of ActionAid Ghana’s projects and programmes to help address issues of poverty of all forms”.
“According to the World Bank 2023 statistics, poverty is projected to worsen between now and 2025, increasing to nearly 34% (the international poverty line) by 2025, consistent with the muted outlook on growth in services and agriculture and rising prices, which are outpacing the income growth of those at the bottom of the distribution. Evidently, despite the inflation in the country, its minimum wage has only increased by 10%, which is insufficient,” he stressed.
In the new CSP VII, ActionAid Ghana advocates for the expansion and adequate targeting of national social protection programmes in Ghana (LEAP, NHIS, GSFP, LIPWs, Disability Fund).
Additionally, the new CSP VII will strictly monitor and track pro-poor spending under the IMF programme, as well as support communitybased social protection schemes to help reduce poverty in Ghana.
Furthermore, the new CSP VII seeks to promote decent work in both formal and informal workplaces in Ghana by building partnerships with media and social movements to campaign against all forms of modern slavery. Leveraging on existing projects funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), ActionAid Ghana will also partner with the TUC and other CSOs to advocate for and contribute to reviewing the Labour Act, 2003, and
ensure its implementation, especially in the informal sector, to guarantee decent work.
Board Chairman of ActionAid Ghana, Nana Yaw Okyere- Aduachie, said, “The new CSP VII (2023-2028) affirms ActionAid’s commitment to building a sustainable world for all. The strategy has been developed by incorporating the strategic priorities of the Global Strategy—”Action for Social Justice”—and decades of community-rooted experience working with
people’s organisations, social movements, and youth groups,” he pointed out.
The launch was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Education and several Civil Society Organisations from across the regions.