Joe Jackson Bemoans Government Attitude Towards #FixTheCountry Campaigners

Joe Jackson, a financial analyst and Director of Business Operations at Dalex Finance has said the government’s reaction towards the #FixTheCountry campaign smacks of being tone-deaf and insensitive to the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.

He explained that the government’s continuous insistence that it is improving the economic situation of the country as a reaction to the campaign only evokes anger for the many despondent Ghanaians who are yet to see any improvement in their lives.

Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM and monitored by myactiveonline.com, Mr. Jackson said the government must take a pause and listen to the sentiments of the campaigners rather than making claims about things people cannot confess to benefiting from.

“The more you trumpet the growth, the more I feel angry because I don’t feel it. The more you tell me you’ve created two million jobs when I’m jobless, it heaps fire on my pains,” he said.

He stated that the best way to prove government’s commitment to fixing the issues raised by the campaigners is to take radical decisions such as cutting down on the size of government and ceasing the flagrant use of sirens by government appointees to cut through traffic.

“Clearly, it is the inequality and the dashed hopes that are causing the anger. It is easy for us to say if we stop driving the V8 it will not solve the problem, that is true, but it will make people less angry when that is done. It is the anger we are addressing,” he noted.

More than 700,000 tweets have been made by Ghanaians with the hashtag #FixTheCountry among other related ones to impress upon the government to address the rising cost of living and poor living standards in the country.

Various issues such as unemployment, power outages and poor health service delivery are among the issues being raised by the campaigners.

The government has in reaction to the campaign said it is already fixing the issues raised and has called for calm among the campaigners.

But according to Joe Jackson, that is not the way to address the situation.

Mr. Jackson believes that the campaigners are frustrated by the many challenges they face in the country and have observed what appears to be wastage and inefficiencies in government hence are angry about such a situation.

“There is a waste that can be addressed and to say that you can’t solve the problem today does not address the anger that the fix the country hashtag is telling you. Because it is a perception thing, you fix it by perception. You cut down the size of the government,” he added.

He said the government must desist from claiming that the campaign is being sponsored by the opposition and instead work to address the problem.

He further expressed fear that the campaign could lead to an explosion with dire consequences if the issues are not fixed.

By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh

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