Is Ababio, John Dramani Mahama Aware of What will Hit Him?

On January 7, 2025, president-elect, Ababio, John Dramani Mahama will be sworn in for the third time as the president of Ghana for his final four-year term and will be ineligible to contest again. When I saw his “First 120 Days Social Contract with the People of Ghana”, I asked myself whether the incoming president and his NDC party fully appreciate what is about to hit them in government from day one. Then, the attacks, looting and destruction of state institutions by criminals parading as NDC members and supporters convinced me that, some of them do not fully appreciate the magnitude of the inheritance from the previous government. This article is a discussion of some of what will be in the In-Trays of the new government with some unsolicited advice.

J D Mahama won the presidential election in a landslide and his party, National Democratic Congress (NDC) is on course to win two-thirds majority in the legislature. The results were total wipe out for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NDC). However, the state of Ghana’s economy, institutions and the expectations of the people as well as the campaign promises are such that, a tsunami is about to hit the new president and his government, yet to be constituted.

Let me first address the 120 Days Social Contract before other problems. Out of the twenty-six key policy objectives, only four have defined target dates. These are 1, 2, 5 and 6. For the avoidance of any doubt, I reproduce them as follows: 1,“Nominate within the first 14 days the complete list of Cabinet Ministers for parliamentary approval; 2, Constitute the LEANEST AND MOST EFFICIENT government under the fourth republic in my first 90 days in office; 5, Within my first 90 days in office, scrap the following draconian taxes to alleviate hardships and ease the high cost of doing business; E-levy, COVID levy, 10% levy on bet winnings, and Emissions levy and 6,Within my first 90 days in office, review taxes and levies on vehicles and equipment imported into the country for industrial and agricultural purposes”.

Mr President-elect, the lack of target dates for the remaining 21 key policy objectives are suggestive that they will all be attained in 120 days from 7 January 2025. That could be an indication that you might have bitten more than you can chew but I will give you the benefit of the doubt. I also do not understand why it will take you three good months to constitute your full government when time is not on your side.

Another problem is the removal of taxes such as E-levy, COVID levy and others without any indication of how you plan to replace these income generating levies. The question is, how would you pay for the cost of the Social Contract in the first 120 days when there is pressure from government expenditures? One thing is certain and that is the removal of all these taxes will affect how your government will pay for its recurrent expenditures (see, “If you remove betting tax and e-levy, where will revenue come from? - Joe Jackson to Mahama”, Ghanaweb, December 2024).

The good news is that the economy is showing signs of improvement (see, “Positive signals show that the economy is bouncing back- Seth Terkper”, Ghanaweb, December 13, 2024. Mr president-elect, whatever you find on the books on your assumption of office, you, your government and party MUST not talk down the economy because the markets will react to negative news and the cedi could take a nosedive against the dollar.

Let me turn to some urgent problems that are not on your 26 key policy objectives. The first is your nemesis, “Dumsor”, which caused your defeat in 2016. Mr President-elect, I know I don’t live in Ghana but when I was there in May/June 2024, there were regular power cuts in both rural and urban Ghana because I experienced it and I am also aware from the Ghanaian media that the outgoing government is currently experiencing difficulties paying the Independent Power Producers whilst the Electricity Company of Ghana is unable to collect monthly bills from consumers. Therefore, dumsor is just at the corner and Ghanaians will blame you for it and it could be an albatross on your neck for the second time (see, “Energy sector faces ‘systematic decimation,’ needs urgent fix’ – ACEP’s Ben Boakye to Mahama”, myjoyonline, December 11, 2024).

Regular availability and supply of energy and electricity is critical for the growth of the economy, particularly your key policy objective 7 “the 24 Hour Economy”. President-elect, 24-hour economy to me is not a policy but a demand driven condition such as the night market at Osu. The stack reality is, without 24-hour supply of energy and electricity, forget your 24-hour economy. It will not take off; therefore, energy and electricity availability should be your topmost priority, but it’s excluded from your 120 Days Social Contract. I understand not everything could be included.

I am also encouraged by your key policy objective 3 (“Establish a robust CODE OF CONDUCT AND STANDARDS for all government officials”). This is very important to avoid the arrogance and corruption in public office. I encourage you to have a look at best practices across the globe and for that reason, I will recommend the UK’s Ministerial Code, updated in November 2024, the Civil Service Code for political appointees and Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies which all available on the web. In fact, the Nordic countries have better codes of conduct and standards for public office such as the Norwegian Ethical Guidelines for Public Office and I strongly urge you to get copies (also available on the web) to adapt to suit Ghana’s needs.

Mr President-elect, I did not see Declaration of Assets by your appointees in your 120 Days Social Contract. If you are serious about fighting corruption, all your ministers and appointees from the cabinet, chief executives, board members of public institutions, to MMDCEs must all declare their assets before or within 30 days of taking office as well as when they leave office.

What about the abolition of the Ex-gratia award for Article 71 holders? It’s a financial burden on the state. Moreover, MPs should not get nearly half a million cedis retirement package every four years. No country could afford that and not even the wealthy nations do that. In the UK MPs have pensions and are given resettlement package only when they lose their seats after elections and are below retirement age.

Please ensure the strict enforcement of the Procurement Act to avoid public procurement being used as avenues for ministers and political appointees to enrich themselves. There should be no single purpose vehicles set up by politicians and their cronies solely to bid for juicy public procurement contracts to siphon taxpayers’ money. That has been the practice throughout the Fourth Republic and must end with your second coming.

Mr President-elect, one agenda and Dr Bawumia’s legacy that you must continue with vigour, is the digitisation of the economy. I know your key policy objective 16 includes one million coders programme. That should be in tandem with continuing the digitisation agenda to improve tax collection, revenue mobilisation, reduce wastage and theft. Again, digitisation is critical to the success of your 24-hour economy, which will enable the public to access and pay for services 24 hours from the comfort of the homes even when offices are closed.

Now, president-elect Ababio John Dramani Mahama, let me turn to the accountability measures outlined in your key policy objectives 13, 21, 23 and 24, which I reproduce below for easy reference.

13,“Institute inquiries and/or forensic audits into the following matters of public interest: The collapse of Indigenous Ghanaian banks and financial institutions at a supposed cost of GHS25 billion, illegal printing of money, the US$58 million National Cathedral scandal, illegal and inflated single-sourced contracts, COVID-19 expenditure scandal, PDS, Agyapa, SML, Ambulance spare parts deal, 13th African Games, Sky Train, Pwalugu Dam, Maths Sets, Galamsey Fraud, missing excavators and tricycles, Sputnik-V, BOST Scandal, and others.

21,Commence investigative processes to purge state security agencies of all militia and vigilante elements; 23, Re-open investigations into major unresolved criminal cases including the 2020 election killings, Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence, murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale and Silas Wulochamey and;

24, Initiate a probe into the man-made disaster caused by the VRA’s spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams that displaced and destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of citizens in the Volta, Eastern, and Greater Accra.

Ghanaian public sentiment is highly in favour of those who have abused their positions of trust for ill-gotten wealth through stealing from the taxpayer being held accountable and the loot recovered by the state. However, this must not lead to witch-hunting because witches do not exist. The above planed actions will all be aimed at holding public officers of the outgoing government accountable. There are risks of political persecution perception and accusation, if care is not taken. Already, some politically exposed NDC leaders are publicly saying to the world that former ministers and government appointees will be investigated and prosecuted. Such utterances risk any future investigations and prosecutions being tainted as politically motivated and may fail. In fact, some of the statements could be relied on by former political appointees to seek refuges abroad.

Prosecution will not be at the behest of your government or NDC but through the judiciary. Many Ghanaians do no believe that the judiciary is fit for the fight against corruption and there are examples of how the Special Prosecutor has lamented on the judiciary not being helpful. Therefore, for these reasons, I urge your incoming government and politically exposed NDC leadership to stop commenting on future investigations and prosecutions to avoid prejudicing such future actions. Instead, they should focus on safeguarding documentary evidence from destruction, then gather them for use in any future actions. The evidence should not just be documentary but must be credible, reliable and incriminatory. Otherwise, any prosecution will fail like all others in the past.

In conclusion, Ababio Mahama, I congratulate you, your MPs and party for the unprecedented electoral victory. I am certain that you, your future government and the NDC know very well that the burden on your shoulders is very heavy; expectations are high, and you cannot fail Ghanaians who have given you and your party this extraordinary victory. It cannot be life as usual and you, your ministers and appointees must live above reproach, eschew arrogance and public display of opulence through luxurious lifestyles such as hosting big birthday parties and put them on social media when the many citizens struggle to get three square meals a day. You all must be sensitive to public perception and avoid insulting Ghanaians for their criticisms but be more tolerance. In other words, your actions and omissions must be by thought, deed or word. I wish good luck and success.

Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK