Photo: Siapha Kamara | CEO of SEND West Africa   

Photo Credit: SEND GHANA

Ghana is an unfair and highly unequal society. For example, poverty is concentrated in the Northern regions. Women are underrepresented in the political administration of Ghana. There are fewer women in parliament, cabinet, and assemblies than men. Farmers in rural communities are poorer than wage income earners. According to Building a More Equal Ghana report by Oxfam, “the wealthiest 10% Ghanaians now share 32 % of Ghana’s total consumption, while the very poorest 10% of the population consumes only 2%.”

We at SEND Ghana believe that government policies have been the driving force for the perpetuation of inequality in the country. The colonial state sowed the seeds of inequality with its emphasis on export-oriented capital of the country. Unfortunately, successive governments, rather than uprooting inequality have implemented policies that have made the poor poorer and wealthy wealthier. According to Oxfam, between 2006 to 2013, when economic growth rate per annum was around 6%, 300,000 men, women and children could have been lifted out of poverty had …, inequality not increased.” Meanwhile, this was the period when the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) underpinned national development policy. Paradoxically, Ghana was enjoying international debt relief for its commitment to rooting out poverty.

We at SEND Ghana embraced the SDGs for only one and one reason only. The SDGs have compelled our governments and its external development partners until 2030 to prioritize investment in the fight against inequality. Our support for the SDGs is thus, demonstrated in two key ways. First, SEND’s programmes are contributing to the attainment of the SDGs in health, education, agriculture, and governance. Second, SEND is providing leadership in civil society to hold government accountable for the implementation of the SDGs. This is why we are hosting the secretariat of the Ghana CSOs Platform on the SDGs. This is enabling SEND to promote civil society and government engagements to maximize the implementation of the SDGs.

This edition of the Citizen Watch Newsletter features articles that bring to our readers, how SEND GHANA and its partners are promoting the SDGs in the fight against inequality in Ghana.