Harriet Thompson, the United Kingdom (UK) High Commissioner, has downplayed the possibility of a coup d’état in the country amid an economic crunch.
She noted that she would be surprised if a military takeover should happen because Ghana like other countries in the world over were experiencing hard times as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia invasion of Ukraine.
Stating reasons for her position, Ms Thompson touted Ghana’s democratic credentials adding that “it allows for freedom of expression, a feature that is very important for citizens to express their frustration on matters affecting them.
“It is very challenging for many people in Ghana as it is for many people across the world because after the pandemic, then we have Russia’s invasion of Ukraine creating another layer of really difficult economic challenges for the whole world which has been a lot for many countries to bear,” she noted.
According to her, talking with members of her team and with friends, she knew how much cost-of-living had increased which really affected majority of the people who had expressed worry about civil unrest.
Ms Thompson insisted that Ghana is a country with proud democratic tradition and freedom of expression, had always been and would continue to be an important part of political, social and economic life but as people express their anger and dissatisfaction with the situation they should take a cue in how various organisations were dealing with the difficult economy.
She indicated that even though people have been expressing their anger and dissatisfaction with the economy, it did not warrant an uprising, revolution, coup d’état in the country because democracy was too strong and it was important for the citizenry to express their discontent about prevailing economic challenges.
“I will be surprised to see something akin to the Arab Spring where there was series of anti-government protests in the Arab world also happen in Ghana in spite of economic challenges, I think it is important Ghanaians are able to express themselves and discontent but I do not see it translating into kind of uprisings you see in other countries of the world.
“That is not to say it is not going to happen, I cannot judge but I will be surprised,” Ms Thompson remarked.
