Driving through the busy traffic in the cities and walking on the empty bush paths in the villages, one could conclude that things are really getting hard looking at how able bodied youths in the villages have left their place of birth in search of greener pastures in the city and how the city growth is no longer able to contain them given its conditions such as high inflation, busy streets with hawkers toiling to have ends meat, cases of armed robbery,  kidnappings and the daily stress of living and working and poor sanitation.

On daily basis, more individuals journey  from the villages with the hope of  having a better life in the city. The city dwellers are also on a daily basis struggling to survive.

Years back at independence in 1957 where our population as a country was less, issues of traffic congestion were also less, squatters living in makeshift and poor conditions were also minimal and  issues such  as climate change, sanitation and pollution were not really of  much concern

Our population today however has increased, economy in terms of GDP  and foreign direct investment  are  also growing (thanks to the oil exploration and our peaceful society) but the challenge we face with economy such as depreciatng CEDI's,  high unemployent and underemployment, inadequate housing facilities, over crowded cities and traffic, and insecurity paints a bleak picture of the conditions in the country.

Rather than being the professional fault finder and a critic, This piece points to the fact that, no matter how hard things have become, we are far better than we were in the past and that, we can focus on the positive strides made in order to embrace a hopeful future.

The paradox is that, even with the possible "no bed  syndrome" and unavailable ambulances that aids in health delivery, we have qualified professionals and more responsive health facilities than before. My father who would ordinarily have died of his ailment had he not traveled out of the country can now have his treatment here in Ghana's Korlebu and still survive.

There might be no hospital ambulances but there are roads and cars that can help an appreciable number to access health care. This is not to justify mediocrity but rather point to how long we've come.

More Ghanaian students are accessing quality  education from primary to tertiary education in Ghana now than before. Our schools also engage in top international competition and win ( notable among them are robotic, debate and moot court competitions)

We are not there yet but we are on course.

We have more cars and transport routes to  deprived areas now than before where stones were used as luggages so you can have a space to pay more on the bone shaker truck.

You often  hear people say there are no monies in their pocket and that, they cannot feel the impact of economic growth in their pocket. That may be true, but what is actually certain is that, there are countries where citizens feel monies in their pockets but have nothing to buy with the money.

Ghana might be known to have a flare for importation but years ago, we didn't even have money to import leading to long queues at Accra sport stadium for the little available and people dying of hunger and poverty

We are a step ahead now with importation,  availability of goods and services and the production of made in Ghana goods through industrialization.

Anytime you enter a shop and have money in your pocket and goods available to buy, thank God for how long we've come.

There are more employment now than before given our population. Both government and private sectors are employing labour which ordinarily would have run out of the country. We have more emigrants who deem our country fit for habitation and doing business.

This doesn't come on a  silver platter, we've worked for it over a long period.

We may not have reached but we are on course given how we now have drones delivering medicine, leveraging on technology in various sectors of the economy, digitization, and how economic activity goes on everyday.

It is normal to talk about our politicians and compare them with other advanced countries. But before such comparisons, let's look at our history, our sociocultural conditions and how long we have come. Our society and citizens have played a part in this. Let's do more to impact our development rather than being the professional fault finder and critic.

Ghana might be hard but things are better than we think.

Donatus Doe

Writer & Columnist

doedonatus@gmail.com