In this writeup we will take a look at why you should be concerned with the effects of the ongoing pandemic on your finances and social life here in Ghana. We are responsible for ourselves. Whether (or not) we will succeed in this depends, to a very large extent, on the decisions we start making now.
The worst mistake is thinking “I do not care”, “I have enough already, after all I still have my job” or simply say “I want to think positively”. Not caring about something does not change the reality that it exists (especially in the face of the recent price hikes amid the panic buying). Having money and your job now is great but there is no guarantee you will have them always. And hope is a fantastic attribute to have, yes. But even hope crumbles in the face of overwhelming confusion, especially when you know the troubles are aggravated by your indecisions. Below are three of the most evident effects of the pandemic so far.
THE PANDEMIC’S EFFECTS SO FAR (GHANA)
It was expected that this pandemic would have negative effects on our lives. Put aside the drastic changes we’d had to make – learning to wear face masks, carrying alcohol-based sanitizers and having not to visit loved ones in their homes or congregate with our religious faith-mates – there has been far more uncomfortable outcomes. Below are the most prominent.
- There’s been a huge number of job losses:
According to one survey, which was captured by the World Economic Forum, two-thirds of people in 20 African countries fear going hungry if they had to stay in self isolation for two weeks. Another survey, also captured by the same organization, stated that half of the respondents in 28 African cities said they would run out of money if they had to stay home for 14 days. This is true in the case of Ghana. Many petty traders who used to ply their trade in and around the various (now closed) schools and churches, making a living by selling foods and biscuits, books and pencils to the students, members and staff have had to look elsewhere for their daily bread. How about the teachers, and helpers (e.g. cooks) of private basic schools? These, sadly, are the very ones whose feeding ceases with a brief pause in their work. And they form a significant fraction of Ghana’s population. It is a sad truth that although many of such sudden unemployment are temporal (for as long as the restrictions last), a significant portion of these numbers might not have the means to get back up from their unemployed status as quickly as desired.
Many, if not all, who have resumed trade after the partial lockdown are witnessing a significant drop in the patronage of their products, especially those whose business has personal contact being an integral aspect of their operation. This is because people are either quickly running out of money and are therefore aggressively protecting what still remains or still have some food stuff remaining from the stockpile for the first partial lockdown. The former being the more likely reason. Spending has been fully on consumables, and this affects other facets of the economy.
Starvation may be awaiting many when they end up spending their savings (and/or capital) as they self-isolate for so long in this worsening pandemic. Worst still, many more employers might likely offload more and more workers as supporting large wage bill is becoming more and more difficult.
- Stock markets are taking a hit:
The BBC reported on 30th April, 2020 that there has been a “big shift in global stock markets” and this “can affect the value of pensions or individual savings accounts”. Let’s try to put this in simple language.
What the report is saying simply is that, because of the slow in economic activities globally (with Ghana being no exception) companies are not earning as much as most of them envisaged. This affects the value of their stocks, which leads to a reduction of the value of monies people have invested in them. We all hope this pandemic ends soon. But if things should continue this way for a longer time, investors will see a decline in the value of their investments.
One very vulnerable group in a developing country like Ghana is the aged (or retirees). The report mentioned a negative effect on values of pensions. Meaning, though the real amounts of the benefits retirees are entitled to may not drop, same cannot be said of their true value. Or in simpler words, if the value of pension drops it is not likely to buy what that same amount could have afforded previously. And that is a terrible news for our older folks, most of whom depend solely on their benefits!
Comparatively, most Ghanaians keep a savings account as opposed to current or any other type of account. Keeping a savings account has never actually been the best of financial decisions. And in most cases, savings accounts here in Ghana attract a nearly zero interest. Some even attract a deduction if you have subscribed to the use of special services. How are savings accounts affected? Imagine the situation where the amount of your savings remains the same (because you do not want to touch the money in your account) but then the true value of that amount keeps falling because of an ailing economy. This translates as follows: As the virus is keeping economic activities on the low, more Ghanaians are becoming poorer by the day because the value of their savings keep reducing.
- Health and Lifestyle Changes:
We must all have heard of, or used the popular video conferencing app- Zoom. It has created a fantastic way of still maintaining some social life, even in isolation. However, one very worrying thing you must have noticed from the many video chats you’ve probably had is that almost every one you spoke to has put on some weight. And when you point it out to them, they quickly admit that it’s true and attribute it to the long stay-home. Sadly, it is not a part of our culture to exercise regularly as health experts advise.
In our part of the world being overweight is often consider a sign of good living. However, that is a disastrous health issues waiting to explode. Gaining too much weight has been linked to other serious health risks like diabetes, hypertension, and strokes. There are many Ghanaians already living with these conditions. Therefore, the longer we stay home and remain inactive, the more disastrous this is likely to get. Not taking good care of one’s health now means you are likely to spend soon on health issues. And that’s no-good news for your finances.
And finally, lifestyle changes. This pandemic has really raised the average Ghanaian’s awareness of good personal and especially hand hygiene. There are veronica buckets mounted all over the country for handwashing. Good news is that most Ghanaians make use of them. It’s easy to see more people wearing face masks and using sanitizers after handling money or coming off a public transport. This is a good thing and it promises to be with us for a really long time – even after this pandemic is long gone.
However, there is a but. As much as we’d love to go back to “our lives” and meet friends, dance in church and attend our festivals and weddings, do you really believe we’d really get back to doing all that so comfortably? Don’t you believe that it is more likely to take a considerably longer time for us to move as close to being ourselves? More especially as the virus won’t vanish in a day but would be with us for quite some time. It could be that for many more years to come we will be doing some form of social distancing, which is unlike us as Ghanaians. We are going to be a changed people possibly preferring to meet our loved ones virtually than in person. We’d probably become a people preferring to spend money on data than on transportation to meet up with family and friends. This change could be with us for a long time to come.
