Planning to Fail Since Nkrumah's Time : Ghana's Floods, Cedi Gains and Political Theatre
By A Concerned Ghanaian · 6 July 2026 · Politics
I have held on tightly to my pen before it floats off somewhere near Circle. If you thought Parliament held the monopoly on drama, the rest of the Republic has said, "Hold my chalewote."
First, a miracle: the government has paid $700 million in Eurobond obligations ahead of schedule, bringing total repayments to $2.1 billion. To stop the cedi fainting from shock, the Bank of Ghana pumped $2.01 billion into the forex market, and the cedi has recorded its first monthly gain of 2026. Its first baby steps, and we clapped like proud parents. Billions flying about like confetti, while the average man still pats his pockets, waiting for the breeze.
The Odaw overflowed, displacing thousands in Adabraka and Odawna, while at Tiptoe Lane the name graduated from history to instruction manual, traders literally tiptoeing through the deluge. Even the rich were not spared. In Tse Addo, people who paid fortunes for dream properties watched everything become beachfront in a single afternoon, mansions converted by the rain into swimming pools with bedrooms. And when you ask why, the elders shrug: "Oh, but the floods started in Nkrumah's time." Forgive them, Osagyefo, they invoke your own era as an alibi. If a problem has outlived you and we still budget for it every June, that is no longer failing to plan. That is planning to fail, with commendable consistency.
And the theatre of it! One assumed the helicopter would be deployed to pluck citizens from rooftops. Not so. The only airlift Accra received was the president himself, inspecting the suffering from a comfortable altitude, where floodwater looks like scenery and the wailing cannot reach the rotors. The only thing rescued was his shoes. Meanwhile the opposition leader, Bawumia, laced up his rain boots and empathized at sea level, cameras drinking it all in. But the masterstroke came the next day. Having lost over 20 souls to the waters, you would expect a state of mourning. Instead, the president and his men appeared at a thanksgiving service, resplendent in white. White, Osagyefo! The nation buries its dead in black while its leaders give thanks in bridal colours. One wonders what for. Perhaps the helicopter landed safely.
Up north, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has commissioned a magnificent mosque in Tamale with room for 6,000 worshippers. Beautiful, no doubt, though one notices a pattern: we raise places of worship faster than places where a man might earn a few cedis. At this rate we shall be the most prayerful unemployed people on earth, petitioning heaven for the jobs we declined to build ourselves. One hopes a few of those prayers get routed to football, because Carlos Queiroz has fled the Black Stars after less than three months, barely time to pick a side in the jollof debate. His parting advice: strengthen the game "beyond the pitch." Bold words from a man whose tenure lasted about as long as a group chat argument. Changing coaches remains our true national sport, and we are undefeated.
On law and order, Attorney General is not done flexing. He ordered Hannan's arrest at the airport, allegedly for attempting to unfreeze his frozen account. Walk with me, Osagyefo. If the account is truly frozen, how does one thaw it from the departure lounge? Either the freeze works and the attempt is harmless theatre, or it does not, and the problem is the padlock, not the man rattling it. Well, the court had given Hannan the right to travel. Can the Attorney General wave away a court directive at the check-in counter? That is not law enforcement, that is executive overreach with a boarding pass.
So there it is: debts paid early, Accra tiptoeing, leaders in white while the nation mourns, prayers rising faster than payrolls, and a lottery for the next Black Stars coach. The wheel keeps turning, occasionally through floodwater, but turning.
So long,
Ato_KD