The Ghanaian administration has decided to increase the salaries of its public servants by up to 30%.
This directive is despite the myriad of economic challenges the country is currently faced with.
The negotiations that led to this decision began in November, right in the middle of Ghana’s numerous financial crises. Following the negotiations, the country’s trade union which represents public service employees, and the Ghanaian government agreed on a 30% pay raise for public employees.
Last year for Ghana was one of the worst financially in its recent history.
Ghana was faced with one of the worst levels of inflation on the globe, reaching a 21-year high at 502%. At one time, the country also had one of the worst-performing currencies in the world, fluctuating between worse and second worse.
To remedy this situation, the Ghanaian finance minister, Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta, pushed for a $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is still being delayed today.
The IMF had its reservations but seemed inclined to eventually approve the loan, the Ghanaian public was against the initiative altogether, protesting that the country didn't need to increase its debt service, while the country’s parliamentary members grew increasingly frustrated that the loan had not been secured.
These and other financial complications made 2022 a very turbulent year for Ghana. However, the country was able to turn its fortunes around, with the country’s currency going from the worst-performing currency in the world to the best.
Since then, the country’s economic trend has been fluctuating, and inconsistent headlines about the Ghanaian economy have made news rounds.