Ghana’s latest IMF bailout was necessitated by a combination of global shocks and domestic factors, primarily a spending spree by President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration. Akufo-Addo campaigned for the presidency in 2016 on the promise of change. Seven years on, change has indeed come. But it has not been in the promised direction.
Liberia is scheduled to hold its next general election in October, a vote that will determine the country’s next president and its national lawmakers. Amid domestic challenges, as well as a growing fear of democratic backsliding in the region, the upcoming polls could have major domestic and regional ramifications.
On June 24, Sierra Leone’s voters will go to the polls to elect their next president and parliamentary representatives, with the economy at the forefront of their minds. Indeed, despite ethno-regional loyalties that have historically shaped voting patterns, concerns over the economy are likely to determine the election’s outcome.