Final countdown before Ghana's presidential poll

Guardian Nigeria

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00:00Hello and welcome to Ion Africa, I'm Clarisse Fortuné and these are the stories making

00:06headlines across the continent.

00:09Few hours before going to the polls for close to 19 million voters in Ghana, they will choose

00:14the next president out of 12 candidates including the current vice president and a former head

00:19of state.

00:22Hundreds of people march in Jamena to call for the withdrawal of French troops from the

00:26country.

00:27The government has already announced that it's ending the military agreement between

00:30Chad and France.

00:34Dakar becomes African arts capital during the 15th edition of the Biennale.

00:39This year celebrates craftsmanship with a theme, hippopotamus.

00:46This Saturday, more than 18 million Ghanaian voters will be able to take part in the country's

00:51ninth general election.

00:53Twelve candidates are vying for the top jobs including Mahamudu Maoumia from the ruling

00:58NPP having served as current president Nana Akufo-Addo's vice president for eight years

01:03and John Mahama who's hoping for a comeback as president.

01:07Now he represents the opposition National Democratic Congress.

01:10Justice Baidu has been getting a feel for the atmosphere in Acapulco, Accra.

01:17Many people across the country are upbeat about tomorrow in the capital, Accra, where

01:24I am now, ballot polling election materials are being dispatched across the country.

01:31It's been a quiet day today because several people have been traveling across the country

01:36to get in time to the villages and towns where they would be voting.

01:42The country has shut down its borders with the three neighboring countries around it,

01:50Togo, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire.

01:53The official government statement said that it is to protect the integrity of the country's

01:58elections and to prevent foreigners from coming into the country to take part in the elections.

02:04There are also issues to do with the terror situation especially to the north of the country

02:10where the Burkina Faso has been under insurgency for a couple of years before now.

02:17But all in all, the country is very much ready for this very crucial election that kicks

02:23in in less than 12 hours from now.

02:27And can you please remind us what's going to happen tomorrow?

02:32So the polls would open in the morning at 7 and close at 5.

02:37More than 18 million voters are taking part in elections across over 30,000 polling stations

02:45across the country.

02:46It is expected generally to be peaceful even though the police service and the Electoral

02:52Commission working with all the institutions have identified several hotspots where they

02:58say there are potential issues of violence that could erupt.

03:04The police have assured generally all through the week that they have every situation under

03:10control and have asked all voters to step out in their numbers and cast their ballot.

03:18And just as they also explained that one of the key issues on the minds of voters is education

03:24and that an increasing number of students has forced the government to run a double

03:28track system which keeps thousands of the students at home for months.

03:32Let's see his report with Julia Guggenheim and Damian Kofi.

03:37Maybel is not in class today because of a double track system implemented in Ghana.

03:42Each school divides eight students into two groups who take turns spending two months

03:46in class and two months at home.

03:48I'm trying to do some study in order to cope with the upcoming election.

03:55You spend a lot of time at home more than the time you have to spend in school and it

04:01drags us back.

04:02Sometimes you are not even able to complete the syllabus in which we are taught.

04:07So I prefer the old time school better than the double track system.

04:12The government had to put in place the system initially announced as temporary after establishing

04:16free education for high school students in 2017.

04:19The number of students has since jumped from 800,000 to 3 million.

04:24Before the double track system came, my first born, before I would go to school, I was struck

04:29by the double track system because at that time I would pay the money before the boy

04:36would go to school.

04:37But because of that, he would stay at home for the first term and I would get the money.

04:40For the second term, I would get the money before he would go to school.

04:43So this double track is good for me.

04:47But school resources haven't grown to match the new demand.

04:50The policy is popular among voters, yet many parents dislike this shift system.

04:56Yes, the numbers are high, but have we been able to maintain the same quality?

05:03That is no.

05:04Then the difficulty was that we did not get the right number of teachers.

05:09They now have more students in their classrooms.

05:14They now have more hours to teach.

05:19They now have more workload on their hands and they hardly get holidays.

05:29The lead candidates in Ghana's presidential election this weekend have all promised to

05:32build schools and hire more teachers to address the problem.

05:37This Friday morning, thousands of Chadians took to the streets in Jamena to protest against

05:42the French military presence in their country.

05:44The government has already announced that it's ending the military agreement between

05:48Chad and France, although no official date was set for the French military to leave.

05:54Protesters want them out as soon as possible for the sake of the country's sovereignty,

05:58they said.

05:59Harold Girard has the details.

06:02There were at least four different locations where protestors gathered at the same time

06:07all in the capital city in Jamena.

06:10All the people we spoke to at the demonstration were very thankful to the Chadian President

06:16Mohamed Idris Déby for breaking the military agreement with France, but are now asking

06:23for a concrete timeline for troop withdrawal.

06:26A large part of the Chadian public believe cooperation with French soldiers didn't help

06:32to turn Chad in a more secure place.

06:36The country is still facing several security challenges, especially in the Lake Chad region

06:41where the insurgent group Bukhram continues to target civilians.

06:46We want French soldiers to leave in a very short time, or as soon as possible.

06:53One week, two weeks or a month maximum.

06:58If you look at the situation in the Lake Chad region, the French army can get intel, establish

07:02military logistics and even launch satellites to monitor the area and inform the President.

07:07But we don't get that help, so we cannot continue working with them.

07:11On Wednesday, Chadian authorities created a special commission to organize the end of

07:16the military agreement between both countries, but the Chadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

07:22says it has started a discussion with the French ambassador on renewing the non-military

07:29partnership between Chad and France.

07:34Nandria's Port Harcourt refinery has finally resumed its operation after being out of action

07:39for a few years, bringing hope for millions of small companies.

07:43After the end of fuel subsidies and several liberal reforms introduced by President Bolat

07:48Inoubo's administration, inflation has skyrocketed, and millions of small and medium companies

07:54have to close their doors.

07:56Chinwe Osundu met entrepreneurs who are trying to keep their businesses going against all odds.

08:02The hike in the price of fuel has caused these pupils from a private school to walk several

08:08kilometers to their classrooms.

08:10The school management has stopped their transportation system because many parents are still struggling

08:16to pay school fees.

08:32The more than 33 percent rise in price of fuel is a nightmare for this farmer.

08:43Yekini has to work extra hours in neighboring farms to buy fertilizer or renew his farming

08:49tools.

08:50He is pessimistic about the future sales of his cassava because he will have to calculate

08:56his price, taking into consideration inflation and the current price of fuel in Nigeria.

09:04There was a time when we used to make many sales.

09:08Things were very affordable.

09:10But now, even when we get goods for sale, we don't get any customers.

09:16And things are now very expensive.

09:21For the past five years, Tunde has been a driver for two competing shared transport

09:26applications.

09:27His turnover has plummeted since the end of fuel subsidy.

09:31Before approving or rejecting another, he now checks the journey on his smartphone.

09:37How I work now is, once a request comes in, the first thing I look after is the pickup.

09:47Once the pickup is far to me, I won't honor the rights.

09:52Against this difficult backdrop, at least 8 million of the country's 40 million businesses

09:57have closed shop between January 2023 and June 2024, according to the Nigerian Association

10:04of SME Managers.

10:08The Dakar Biennale of Contemporary African Art is about to wrap up.

10:12The festival is dedicated to showcasing the best of African continent's art.

10:17And this year marks the first time craftsmen were invited to participate in a prestigious event.

10:23They came together for a joint exhibition inspired by the hippopotamus Clemence Valère.

10:32In Dakar's artisan village, craftsmen are hard at work.

10:37For the last month, they have been creating pieces to showcase during the Dakar Biennale

10:41of Contemporary African Arts.

10:43The 15th edition has given them a new platform to highlight their talents.

10:48Papis Kante is a sculptor and one of the Dakar-based artisans participating in the event.

10:53In his workshop, he sculpts his latest piece, determined to showcase his craft.

11:01Sculpting has importance in Senegalese society.

11:05It's an art.

11:08Every artist wants to get better, so that in the future we will be able to exhibit all over the world.

11:17At 35 years old, the Dakar Biennale draws hundreds of artists, curators and art lovers

11:22from across the world at every edition.

11:24And this year, for the first time, local artisans were invited to participate in the prestigious festival.

11:30I hope next year we do even better, and that all the artisans will be happy.

11:36Two Senegalese curators approached five local artisans,

11:39each specialized in a different craft, with a proposal for a joint exhibition.

11:44The five were asked to reinterpret the theme of the hippo.

11:49Communities who live close to water know the hippopotamus very well.

11:53This is an animal that brings people together,

11:56and we are using it to bring these craftsmen together.

12:01The curators say showcasing the talent of local craftsmen

12:05was crucial to highlighting Senegalese artistic traditions.

12:12And this report to conclude our edition of Eye on Africa.

12:14Thank you for watching and stay tuned to France 24.

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