Ghana’s newly elected president, John Dramani Mahama.
The prospect of a change in economic fortunes looms in Ghana as the country’s opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) celebrates its sweeping victory in the presidential and legislative elections.
With former president, John Dramani Mahama, returned for a second and final term in office after losing to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2016, many of his supporters look forward to the return of some of the policies for which he gained popularity.
Mahama, during his time in office, had embarked on several major infrastructural projects that had significant impact on the country’s health and educational sectors, also launching a major revival in transportation services with the Accra public transport initiative, expansion of the Kotoka international airport in Accra, and a major rehabilitation in the country’s railway network.
The knock-on effect of his victory has been felt in Nigeria where many in the opposition are calling on former president, Goodluck Jonathan, who had been voted out of power after serving one term in office, to run for office in 2027. The reason for this, many say, is the similarity in the direction both countries’ economies took after both presidents were removed from office.
Hope for economic revival
As he comes into office for his second term, Mahama has promised even wider reforms, expressed in his campaign manifesto, which he describes as his “social contract” with the Ghanaian people.
His promised reforms include the Nomination within the first 14 days of the complete list of Cabinet Ministers for parliamentary approval. He also intends to Constitute the leanest and most efficient government under the fourth republic in his first 90 days in office. He promises to establish a robust code of conduct and standards for all government officials.
Some of his reforms focus on revamping an economy that has taken a beating, many say, in the last eight years of outgoing president, Nana Akufo-Addo’s NPP government. These include plans for a National Economic Dialogue to “discuss the true state of the economy and prepare a home-grown fiscal consolidation programme to guide the budget.”
Mahama’s tax reform promises have been a major pull for his supporters, and many are counting on his proposals to ease the pressure of doing business imposed by what many describe as draconian fiscal policies of the outgoing government. These include the E-levy, COVID levy, 10% levy on bet winnings, and Emissions levy, which he has promised to scrap within his first 90 days in office.
Also, within the first 90 days, Mahama promises to review taxes and levies on vehicles and equipment imported into the country for industrial and agricultural purposes, commence the drafting of needed legal amendments and prepare for implementing the “24-Hour Economy Policy” under the Office of the president. He has also pledged to establish an Accelerated Export Development Council (AEDC) to promote exports as part of a broader strategy for economic transformation.
Mahama’s plan to cut down unemployment includes launching priority job creation 16 programmes, such as the ‘Adwumawura’ Programme, ‘National Apprenticeship Programme’ and ‘One Million Coders Programme’, in his first budget.
He also proposes the Introduction of social interventions, including Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities, the Ghana Medical Care Trust (MahamaCares) Fund.
The free education for Persons with Disabilities is part of a programme that would be extended to all first-year students in public tertiary institutions—universities, colleges of education, nursing training institutions, and others.
Ghanaians will undoubtedly be looking forward to swift action on his assurances to address the environmental problems caused by the country’s huge artisanal gold mining activities, popularly known as “galamsey”, which were among the main topics during the campaigns.
His plan entails banning illegal and new mining activities in forest reserves and rolling out ‘Tree for Life’ and Blue Water Initiative’ to “heal and sustainably harness the environment by turning areas and water bodies degraded by illegal mining into economic and ecological recovery hubs.”
A good omen for Nigeria’s opposition
Probably considering Mahama’s victory as a good omen, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on whose platform Jonathan had governed as president, has extended an invitation to him to contest the 2027 presidential election on its platform again.
Ibrahim Abdullahi, the PDP’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, said the party has been eagerly awaiting the former president’s return for a second term, emphasising that Jonathan’s return would be a welcome development, considering the party’s significant role in shaping Nigeria’s leadership.
There have been reports of recent sightings of Jonathan’s presidential posters for the 2027 elections in the northern city of Kano, and these have sparked speculations about his possible return to the political arena.
Speculation about Jonathan’s potential interest in the 2027 presidential race intensified following reports that prominent political figures from northern Nigeria had initiated efforts to draft him into the contest.
The push is reportedly based on the belief that Jonathan remains eligible to serve another four-year term, having previously held the presidency from 2011 to 2015. Also, there is growing discontent with the leadership of Bola Tinubu by some Northern elders.
Probing past wrongs
Mahama’s pledge to institute a government policy banning political appointees from purchasing state assets has raised the hopes of his supporters that this would restrict avarice of public officers.
Mahama also won public support with his insistence on investigating some controversial issues of public interests, such as the collapse of Indigenous Ghanaian banks and financial institutions at a supposed cost of GHS25 billion, illegal printing of money, and the US$58 million National Cathedral scandal.
Others include illegal and inflated single sourced contracts, COVID-19 expenditure scandal, the Sky Train project, Pwalugu Dam, and Galamsey Fraud.
He has promised to initiate a probe into the man-made disaster caused by the Volta River Authority’s (VRA) spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams that displaced and destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of citizens in the Volta, Eastern, and Greater Accra, assuring that his government would take immediate steps to compensate the flood victims, including those in the Oti, Bono East and Savanna regions.
For many Ghanaians, the clock has started ticking for Mahama, as they await expeditious efforts to deliver on his promises to restore confidence for the millions who had lost hope and who seek immediate relief.
Noodlemagazine I am truly thankful to the owner of this web site who has shared this fantastic piece of writing at at this place.
Technology us This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am really happy to read everthing at one place