By Tosin Adesile
Across the world, a looming food crisis has continued to be a disturbing issue and a cause of serious concern . This is even more serious in the way and manner which it affects many African countries, bringing untold economic hardship to many Africans.
Many people have attributed the increased hardship to bad political leadership, and while it is true that might have played a part, it is not the only cause. Globally, many countries are facing some form of economic hardships in different areas like aviation, high foreign Exchange, inflation and increase in food and fuel prices.
The current quagmire around the world is seeing prices for food and fuel spike which is largely driven by the war in Ukraine. In Tunisia, a country in North Africa with a population of 11.82 million is already entangled in deep economic malaise. The aftermath of this has brought hardship to the people.
The President of the currently who felt traders were profiteering swung into action and ordered shopkeepers to keep prices low in the face of inflation with police raiding warehouses but prices has continued to go up. Poverty and unemployment has dealt a big blow to the country ever before
An aftermath of this same rising cost of living is what led to the recent demonstrations in Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries of the world. The country’s high debt burden is limiting the government’s ability to bring down the cost-of-living crisis rocking the country. A demonstration which later turned violent which led to the death of over 20 people after the youths have come out in their large numbers to protest and show their grievances which later devolved into street clashes. The country’s public debt is standing at 76% of gross domestic product.
The protests in this West African nation of eight million people underscored how rising inflation which is as a result of the war in Ukraine and the Post Covid-19 pandemic has affected many economies negatively.
Other Countries like Ghana also saw her inflation rate reaching its highest level so far in nearly two decades last month. It has never been so bad.
In the past months in Nigeria, the dollar has continued to rise compared to the naira, which for a country dependent upon imports, does not bode well for our economic growth. The low purchasing power of local currencies like Naira,Cedi and others is really affecting the people, as well as SMEs.
In Nigeria, prices of goods have continued to rise compared to the pay of workers. While salaries and wages have stayed the same, yet prices of good is skyrocketing. The purchasing power of the average Nigerian is reducing daily.
Nigerians are really facing tough times. Apart from the fact that the average Nigerian citizen is responsible for providing his own amenities such as power, security, water etc, prices of many things are getting beyond the reach of the common man. The situation was bad before, now it is worse due to the ineffectiveness of government’s economic and welfare policies, as well as the economic consequences of the global crises.
South Africans are also experiencing a hard time. This has led to more volatile conditions as a result of economic and financial conditions which is expected to remain in the nearest future. This cannot also be detached from the volatile oil price and the continuing war between Russia and Ukraine which has affected among other reasons. The Cost of food stuffs, wheat and cooking oil is high. There is an Inflation rate hike of 7.4% in June, 2022 from 6.5%.which has influence the Monetary policy committee on an announcement on interest rate hike.
As Africans and the rest of the word continue to battle with economic hardship, it is imperative that governments come to the aid of the people, by formulating and implementing humane policies to cater for as wide a range of people as possible, and ensuring that funds meant for social welfare are not embezzled by the people in charge of such.
On the part of the people, it is important to downgrade from a big apartment to a smaller one to reduce cost while parking more than one or two cars is also not cost effective. Those living alone can consider getting a roommate before things improve.
With the right approach, African countries can not only ride the wave of economic hardship, but come out of it better and stronger, with a more robust economy, and people that live better.