50% of Ghanaians believe standards of living have worsened – Report
A survey by Ghanaian research firm, Global InfoAnalytics, reveals that 50% of the Ghanaian populace believe standards of living have worsened over the years.
This represents a 12 percentage points increment in the section of the Ghanaian populace that believe living conditions have worsened over the years.
In a similar survey conducted in January 2022, the research firm noted that 38% of the population believe living conditions had worsened.
This is against the current 50% that believe living conditions have worsened, particularly in the first quarter of this year, according to the end-Q1 2022 survey conducted by InfoAnalytics.
Per the survey, 15% of Ghanaians believe living conditions have improved, although this is a reduction from the 27% Ghanaians that believe living conditions had improved in the beginning of the year – January 2022.
Twenty-eight percent (28%) of the population however think living conditions have remained stagnant over the years.
The survey further reveals that, 54% of the population do not have confidence that living conditions will improve over the next 12 months.
Some thirty percent of the population however, have confidence that living conditions will improve over the next 12 months.
Worsening living conditions of citizens over the past years can be attributed to the severe impact of the Covid pandemic on businesses and households and the economy at large for the past two years, which has resulted in job losses and business shutdowns as well as reduction in the country’s GDP growth.
For the first quarter of this year, high living conditions can be attributed to the rising crude oil prices on the international market and rising food prices which have resulted in a higher inflation rate [19.4%], all occasioned by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
E-Levy Approval: 40% to use MoMo platform when necessary
Meanwhile, on the back of the approval of the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) by Parliament and its subsequent assent into law by the President, 40% of Ghanaians have said they will use the mobile money (MoMo) platform “when it is absolutely necessary” to do so.
On the other hand, some twenty-six percent (26%) of Ghanaians say they will withdraw their funds from the MoMo wallets, indicating that they will no longer be using the platform.
Some 18% of the populace assert they will find alternatives to avoid paying the 1.5% E-Levy tax on MoMo transactions.
For 9% of Ghanaians, the 1.5% tax on MoMo transactions will not affect their usage of the platform for payment and receipt of money.
The above are findings from the survey of Ghanaian research firm, Global InfoAnalytics, with regards to the response of Ghanaians to the approval of the E-Levy.
The findings by InfoAnalytics support earlier reports of a drop of some GHS 10bn in the value of MoMo transactions by the Bank of Ghana.
