A survey by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, has revealed that Ghana’s economic conditions as well as the personal living standards of Ghanaians, have worsened with the advent of COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey underscored that close to 70% of Ghanaians believe that the national economic conditions are much worse in the COVID-19 era compared to the period when Ghana was COVID-free.
Similarly, 65% of respondents believe that COVID-19 has taken a toll on the living standards of Ghanaians; moving them from a bad state to a much worse condition.
Out of a sample size of 2,400 participants who assessed the economic conditions of Ghanaians, “69% believe that the economic conditions are much worse, 17% maintained that the economic conditions have remained the same while a paltry 14% agree the situation is much better”, the CDD-Ghana report stated.
On the other hand, the survey shows that while 20% of respondents perceive personal living conditions to be at the same level, 15% think the standard of living has improved during the COVID-19 period.
Meanwhile, the survey by the governance think tank indicates that Ghanaians are split when it comes to the direction of the country. When asked whether the country is moving in the right or wrong direction, 47% of respondents felt that the nation was moving in the right direction while the same number of citizens said the country is on the wrong path.
Despite the split opinions on the country’s direction, Ghanaians are optimistic about the short-term future of the economy, with a whopping 69% predicting that the economic conditions would be better within the next 12 months.
Other highlights
According to the 2020 pre-election survey aimed at sampling the views of Ghanaians on the nation’s preparedness for elections, public confidence among other things, the topmost priorities of Ghanaians are infrastructure and unemployment with 51% and 46% respectively.
Additionally, government was given a mixed rating of 46% being fairly poor and 52% being fairly good on government’s handling of people’s topmost concerns.
The concerns raised covered education, health, crime, security, agriculture, electricity and water supply.
On elections, Ghanaians chose a peaceful election over a free and fair election.
