The other day, we read that the biggest joke of the 21st Century occurred when computers started asking human beings to prove that they are not robots.
We are not surprised because today, robots are doing the work humans have been pretending to do since creation.
The second joke is Auntie Atsupi, the hardworking mother of five who survives on GH₵450 as monthly salary, which translates into GH₵18.15 a day. ‘
She is GH₵40 short of the lowest monthly wage in Ghana (GH₵490).
How does she manage with that? She must have a divine vault in her house.
Atuspi’s budget analysis
What did Auntie Atsupi make of Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s budget statement last week? Well, she didn’t watch the proceedings in Parliament, which was telecast live on Woezor TV and other private media.
Unlike her neighbours in the compound house at Madina Old Road, Auntie Atsupi has a television set in her room.
But she is not very happy with the sleek TV, which was a gift from her church in recognition of 30 years of dedicated service as the longest-serving usherette.
However, she has not been able to procure the Multi TV box to enjoy the gadget. She misses her old analoge TV which didn’t require any box.
She admits that she knew about the budget reading but was disinterested. What difference would it make, she asks?
For Atsupi’s benefit, these are some highlights of President Mahama’s first budget and economic policy statement to Parliament, as the sixth president of Ghana.
The Finance Minister cautioned that: “This budget is not just about numbers; it is a blueprint for growth, stability and opportunity”, describing the interventions as a “shock therapy” for the economy.
The budget scrapped former President Akufo-Addo’ One District, One Factory, and also moved the Development Authorities under the District Assemblies.
It abolished the controversial E-Levy, emissions levy and the betting tax.
Auntie Atsupi will be happy to learn that President Mahama increased funding for the Free SHS by an additional GH₵4.1 billion.
It may also come as great relief for Atsupi that the President would pay university entrance fees for all first year students, as part of the ‘No-Fees-Stress’ policy.
This means that Atsupi’s daughter, Etornam, may be going to KNUST for free, at least for the first year.
Also of great interest to Atsupi is the President’s allocation of GH₵200 million for victims of the tidal waves flooding in Ketu South. Atsupi’s twin sister lives in the area and has been a victim of this perennial problem.
Atsupi may not do much with the President’s allocation of $279 million revolving fund for the Ghana Gold Board.
Equally, Atsupi is wondering how the GoldBod will ensure the stability of the Ghana Cedi.
Her personal economy does not involve gold or millions.
GH₵450 monthly magic
Atsupi is not new to budget readings and economic policies.
She may be ignorant of national economic policies–in relation to global statistics and KPIs–but she is not unaware that her little personal economy will never do well if the national figures suffer. She is 62 years this month and has lived through the budgets of many finance ministers.
She remembers Dr. Kwesi Botchwey’s good old days and the works of Ken Ofori-Atta, whom she describes as the man who always wore white.
She has learnt from her daughter that Dr Ato Forson is very young and has some fine ideas, but also wonders what will become of all those ideas: “We hear they have brilliant proposals but we do not experience anything good in our lives”.
Auntie Atsupi is not a literary creation; she is a woman I knew when I lived in Ghana.
Those familiar with my writings would recognise her as the woman with the lifelong dream of tasting her first pizza.
She works as a cleaner and takes home some GH₵450 a month. Like many others in her economic class, how does anybody get round the month with GH₵450?
Out of this amount, she pays her rent, buys food for her children, buys gas for her stove and also pays the trotro fare to work and church.
Occasionally, she gets a free ride from church during the midweek prayer meetings.
Etornam, her daughter, helps around the house but does not bring home any money since she lost her job as a teacher in a private school.
Actually, she resigned from the school because of the proprietor’s sexual advances.
Send me give me food
There are many Ghanaians in Atsupi’s defedefe economy (desperate nothingness) who deploy strange mathematics to eke out a living.
At Atsupi’s workplace, the company driver and other young men in ancillary positions have ingenious ways of seeing the days in the month move ahead of the calendar.
To save the trotro money, the young men do not go home after work; they sleep in old and grounded cars in the office compound.
They wake up at 4am to shower in open space for the day’s work. During lunch, they look forward to company staff sending them on errands.
They are given tips and sometimes leftover food.
Auntie Auntie cannot benefit from this subculture of send-me-give-me-food.
She needs to go home and cook for her family.
She is a single mum and single breadwinner of a big family in a single room.
Since the death of Efo Driver, her husband, the poor woman has been responsible for her family, initially experimenting with petty trading and small catering business behind a vulcanizer’s shop. The new owners of the land sacked the vulcanizer and other operators from the space. She exhausted everything until she found her present cleaning job.
This is the state of Atsupi’s personal economy until the next budget is read.
In her lifetime, she has hoped against hope that she would have her own Wirtschaftswunder (German for economic miracle), but it is too late in the day.
Kwesi Tawiah-Benjamin
Tissues Of The Issues
bihfrontiers@gmail.com
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