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A young Ghanaian entrepreneur’s account of the “most peaceful” election he’s seen

After writing about the Ghanaian presidential elections, gathering some voices on issues of stability and safety that some people speculated on, I wanted to look back on the proceedings of the election with another young person. 

I talked to Jaward, a Ghanaian university student, who is also a faculty member of the Ghana Education Service. He is currently doing his second degree in IT Education. He also runs his own internet café and printing services shop near Tamale Polytechnic, one of the big post-secondary institutions in Tamale.

In addition to all of the above, Jaward is very active with the Ghana Volunteer Program, which is an initiative by the Ghana Think Foundation. He is the lead volunteer for the Northern Region. The Ghana Volunteer program exists to encourage volunteerism amongst youth.

You can follow him on Twitter at @jawardmaltiti.

 Jaward and I met one week after the election, which occurred on December 7th, 2016. This is an account of his thoughts based on the questions I asked him.

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Jaward doesn’t belong to any particular party. For this particular election, he stayed in tune with what was happening because he was curious as to why people were so involved in the election.

Early in the campaigning period of the election, he believed that the majority of those who do vote, are not moved to vote due to any particular issues. After asking some of his classmates at his university in Kumasi (capital of the Ashanti region) a little bit about political party platforms, manifestoes, etc, some admitted that they didn’t read anything about them. Despite this lack of awareness, they were members of certain parties. 

People are now interested in what the government does

However, due to the poor performance of Ghana’s economy in recent years, and rising inflation, Jaward argues that people are now interested in what the government does, and doesn’t, do. Hence the increased number of people interested in voting. Indeed, there was a relatively high voter turnout in the 2016 Elections, at 68%. (At the time of our conversation, the turnout was thought to be 68%. As the Electoral Commission calculated the results, it was revealed that this percentage was for 271 of 275 constituencies in the country, and that the total voter turnout was actually lower, at 49%, which according to the Graphic Online was received with skepticism.) By comparison, Canadian turnout to the federal election in 2016 was 68.3%, which was the highest since 1993.

Jaward clarified that the layman may not understand inflation or the cause of inflation. However, what the average person is aware of, is that recently, certain goods and services are more expensive, for example, school fees. This, he argues, moves the layman to vote and to vote for the party that he believes will address these issues. He also noted that graduates of post-secondary institutions such as himself are struggling to find work, further contributing to a list of social issues. We got into a discussion on unemployment later.

NDC government did not live up to election promises

Jaward is also an entrepreneur. Prior to starting his business, an internet café, his taxes increased and thus opening a business meant paying more in duties and taxes. He felt that the the NDC government did not live up to its promises it made when it won the 2012 election, because running his business has not been easy. That was one reason he was hoping to see a change of government. Another reason is the level of corruption of the NDC government. He indicated his compatriots’ dissatisfaction in the government spending a lot of taxpayer money on the campaigning as an example of corruption.

Now, Jaward is optimistic about the change in government. He notes that it was the most peaceful election he has seen. Some of his friends have put up a non-partisan website to track election promises.

Youth Unemployment and the Ghana Education System

From there the conversation turned to his friends and other youth. Many Ghanaians, and Ghanaian youth, see the government as responsible to providing a solution to unemployment. One such solution is providing employment opportunities through the government itself. For him, entrepreneurship is one solution to unemployment, which is why he began his own business. One problem with thinking that the government must provide jobs, Jaward says, is that many youth don’t have the skills to be employed in the first place. They may have the [university] degree, but they don’t have the skills to succeed in that work environment. 

He notes that this partly comes from the education system, which desperately needs to enhance delivering practical knowledge and critical thinking. He says of his counterparts’ mentalities: “[They] are just [there] to get a good GPA and then [they] are gone.” In other words, they are there to read the books, pass the exam, and become certified. He argues that school should be training them to specialize in something, to be able to solve problems in society.

To top off our conversation, I asked him what he thought of the recent US election. He said he didn’t follow it much, but that he has read many books that Trump has authored and co-authored. Jaward’s question was, how can Trump be preaching one thing while campaigning, but writing about something else? 

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Election excitement in Tamale has been building. The day we have all been waiting for is 7th December, where Ghanaians will head to the polls. For months now, every morning on the news we see footage from Accra of different politicians and news commentators in their neatly pressed attire and bottled water, ready to discuss the same issues, again and again. Unemployment. Youth unemployment. Inflation. Teenage pregnancy. Corruption. Afterwards commentators gather to discuss the same issues, over and over. “Ghanaian youth love money too much.” “The way this country is going, I’m telling you…” So on and so forth.

Here in Tamale, capital of the Northern Region, and hub of northern Ghana in general, white NDC jeeps drive around the city. They gather in places such as Jubilee Park, adjacent to the city’s Police Headquarters. Less frequently seen are NPP vehicles and flags, one of the main opposition parties. In August, people were saying that Tamale will not be susceptible to violence due to the overwhelming support the population here has for John Dramani Mahama, Ghana’s current President, leader of the NDC party. Mahama comes from the north, a source of pride for some Northerners. However, Tamale is certainly a flashpoint, due to the population size - the third largest city in Ghana.

Accra is another obvious flashpoint being the capital with a population of more than three million. I have heard different perspectives on the safety of these cities during election time – some say Accra will be safer while others say Accra will have high potential for clashes due to the diversity in opinions. Some say Tamale is a flashpoint while others say Tamale will be relatively calm due to its overwhelming support for the NDC, many supporters from opposition parties would be too fearful to campaign or intentionally cause trouble.

Young men, let’s say aged 18 and up, ride around on their scooters and motorcycles with their friends seated behind them. They wave NDC (and less often, NPP) flags, their exhaust pipes removed from their modes of transport, creating noise and drawing attention on the main streets of town in Tamale. Bravado and a mob-like mentality from these participants is an issue if you are caught in a confrontation in the middle of one of these rallies. They will look at you and point and yell and act in ways they wouldn’t dare if it was just the two of you walking past each other in the street. If you are witnessing these crowds in a taxi it’s almost a guarantee that the driver will comment disapprovingly about the actions of these “small boys”.

Two youth I have been working with were planning a Peace Walk in Tamale and other parts in the Region. The Peace Walk is to raise awareness of the involvement of youth in violence and chaos, particularly during election times. They rightly acknowledge that many youth are unemployed and thus are susceptible to partaking in violence during the election time. They come to the Hub to work on a proposal to fund the Peace Walk. One particular aspect of the Peace Walk is the showing of an Anti-War video, which shows violent clips from Uganda and other African countries rocked by politically fueled violence. At this point different “peace walks” have been held but plans for this particular one fell through, probably due to lack of funding.

Billboards by DE-LUXY, a paint brand, are posted in Accra and Tamale and say, “WE NEED PEACEFUL ELECTIONS. WE HAVE ONLY ONE GHANA.” That much is true. Peace and stability is fragile, and if something happens, violence could grip the country. A civil servant friend of mine told me months ago that this election will be a true test of Ghana’s democracy. In 2013, the losing party from the 2012 election contested the results. All breath was held when the court announced the decision, which ultimately was that the election was not fraudulent. Most Ghanaians I spoke to at the time were happy to move on from that tension. It seemed that they valued peace over what could potentially have been clashes and chaos.

On the day of, many people plan on staying home, leaving only to cast their vote. Some Ghanaians fear clashes in Tamale, and the Northern Region as a whole, will be a real problem if the NDC loses. If the NDC wins, people will take to the streets to celebrate. The young man I bought my bicycle from in August had a big, deep scar on his forearm. As I handed him the money, I asked him what happened. With a half-smile he said, “jubilating Mahama in 2012.”

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Cap d’Antibes, France

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Paris - Le Marais

Film- taken with a Canon T70

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Decided to start experimenting with film again - Jbeil, July 2015

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Sporting Club - this guy has been swimming and fishing in the Mediterranean and at Sporting Club since before I was born. It was December and 18 degrees Celsius out, and homie just came out of the water. "How old do you think I am?" he asked me, then said, "I'm 70 years old. The water kept me young."  

Beirut, Lebanon 

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Achrafieh

Beirut, Lebanon

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Mainburg, Germany

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Montmartre

Paris, France

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Paris, France

Montmartre - July 2012

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Berlin Wall

Berlin, Germany

June 2012

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Upper East Region

Ghana

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The Gates of Ishtar - city in Ancient Iraq. Preserved in a Museum in Berlin. Sad that these things are no longer in the place in which they were created but seeing as much cultural cleansing took place in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, perhaps it is better that the beautiful walls rest in Germany.

Berlin, Germany

May 2012

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One of many dedications in the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. Dedicated to the homosexuals who were killed.

June 2012

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Equity Point Hostel 

Marrakesh, Morocco

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Cannes, France

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Cannes, France