Making light of the burden of economic hardship: A socio-pragmatic analysis of humour in Ghana’s post-COVID economic crises

Abstract

Ghana experienced worsening economic crises following the COVID-19 pandemic, but this was expected since the country was already facing economic difficulties prior to the pandemic. To deal with the increasing crises, the government sought support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July 2022. This sparked ridicule since they had criticised the previous government for seeking an IMF bailout. This study, therefore, offers a socio-pragmatic analysis of the humour surrounding this political discourse on Ghana’s post-COVID economic crises. By analysing linguistic and paralinguistic features from an under-studied context, i.e. humour research in Ghana and on crisis, we examine how netizens used humour to lighten the burden of the economic hardship and, more importantly, as a tool to critique political actors for their alleged roles in the country’s socio-economic challenges. Data was gathered from Facebook and Twitter. With reference to the bifurcation of the play frame, which distinguishes between serious and non-serious framing, we argue that the political humour that characterised Ghana’s economic crisis goes beyond ‘this is play’ and highlights citizen’s frustrations and loss of faith, not only in the current government, but also in political leaders in general. Thus, behind the veil of humour, Ghanaians reiterate the endemic nature of the problems, something which goes beyond what an IMF bailout can solve.