John Dramani Mahama, former President of Ghana
Former President John Dramani Mahama has taken a swipe at the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) saying resolving the challenges confronting Ghanaians is not done through fancy slogans.
He argued that the government has reduced resolving challenges in the country to fancy slogans and poorly conceived and implemented half-measures.
Addressing the ‘State of Ghana’s Economy Forum’, Mr. Mahama said resolving the problems facing the country should be based on well-conceived policies that would address the issues permanently.
He said ”The problems facing our country and the solutions to them cannot be reduced to a handful of fancy slogans and poorly conceived and implemented half-measures aimed at obtaining short-lived political gratification only to have them inflict deeper socio-economic wounds on our country and leave more problems than they resolve.
“Governance is not about empty sloganeering and PR stunts. It should be about methodical steps that are well-conceived and thought through to address our problems holistically and permanently. It should be about crafting and rolling out a vision that transforms society in meaningful ways with clearly benefit all our people.
He continued: ”The seemingly intractable problems we face and the vicious cycle they continue to perpetuate, should compel us to create room for more consultation and deliberation among competing political forces and ideologies as we demonstrated when we convened the Senchi economic forum leading to the formulation of Senchi Consensus.
“Sitting with political opponents to find common ground and thinking through national problems is not an admission of defeat nor helplessness. It is a demonstration of maturity and statesmanship, oozing out of a shared desire to see our nation progress irrespective of the colour of those who govern at a particular point in time.”
According to Mr. Mahama, ”those who govern are but temporary employees of the people of Ghana. They will change from time to time depending on the mood of the electorate, but our country must progress no matter who goes into or comes out of government
“We in the NDC stand prepared to engage in fruitful national dialogue aimed at finding concrete solutions to our most pressing problems. Polarization, extreme partisanship, and the zero-sum approach to governance only serve to hurt our people more.
“The clock is ticking, and our people are watching, rather impatiently I must add, to see if we will course-correct and adjust to their demands and begin to drive a new narrative and paradigm, that prioritizes working in their collective interest and delivering measurable results that enhance their welfare and resolve their problems.
“This work must begin now, and it helps a great deal when platforms like this one are created to foster useful conversations about our nation, its many problems and how to address them,” he concluded.