President-elect Mahama’s 120-day social contract, need for political elite to lead Ghana to succeed

By Raymond Tuvi, Media and Development Consultant

The criminal and utterly condemnable incidents of arson and vandalism associated with the collation or re-collation of parliamentary results and post-election jitters make it clear that Ghanaians have accepted the totality of the outcome of the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. They are ready to move on. Now, everything, including the recent inauguration of the Joint Transition Team, points to an imminent transfer of power from the outgoing administration to the incoming one, led by President-elect John Dramani Mahama.

As the Joint Transition Team works in the background to ensure a smooth and uneventful handover of power on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, President-elect John Mahama is transitioning into his new role. This is a familiar position for him, but one accompanied by differing political and socio-economic circumstances.

In the days following his election victory, President-elect Mahama has been expressing gratitude to God, the clergy, his family, party members, and all Ghanaians. Religious and corporate groups, as well as foreign dignitaries, have been visiting him to offer their congratulations. During these meetings and other engagements, the President-elect has taken the opportunity to shed more light on the policies he and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) campaigned on during the just-ended elections. He has also provided insights into how his government intends to implement these policies.

In one such meeting with Madam Virginia Palmer, the United States Ambassador to Ghana, the President-elect raised the possibility of renegotiating the abrogated Millennium Challenge Compact, which is intended to inject substantial financial resources into improving the efficiency of Ghana’s energy sector.

At another engagement with captains of industry and business leaders, President-elect Mahama outlined the modalities of his proposed 10-point, 120-day Social Contract. This contract is designed to deliver key reforms and policies within the early days of his administration. Key objectives include:

Swift nomination of Cabinet Ministers for Parliamentary vetting within the first 14 days.
Establishment of a lean and efficient government by day 90.
Implementation of a robust code of conduct and standards for all government officials.
Initiation of a national dialogue focused on fiscal consolidation.
In addition, the Social Contract includes operationalizing the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) anti-corruption policy, setting up a probe into the National Cathedral project and COVID-19 fund disbursement, and abolishing several levies such as the E-Levy, COVID-19 Levy, 10% betting levy, and emissions levy.

During a recent courtesy call from the Apostolic Fathers, the President-elect expressed his intention to soon inaugurate a committee focused on achieving these goals. He emphasized, “We have carefully selected the things that we thought were achievable in 120 days. So we are going to work diligently to ensure that at the end of the 120 days, we can check each of them off.”

Considering the critical economic challenges the nation still faces and the effort required to restore stability, President-elect Mahama has cautioned against political opportunism. Speaking at a leadership event for his party’s executives and stakeholders, he advised those lobbying for political appointments to deeply reflect on their motivations.

“Political appointments are not opportunities for personal gain or power, but rather for real service to the Ghanaian people,” he warned. “Leadership involves sacrifice, humility, and hard work. If you are not prepared to serve diligently and selflessly, do not come. Ghana needs leaders who prioritize the country’s interests over personal ambition.”

Citing a Ghanaian proverb to highlight the overwhelming rejection of the outgoing government for its failures, President-elect Mahama reminded potential officeholders in his administration: “The cane that was used in beating Baah is the same cane reserved for similar punishment for Takyi.”

The need for the political elite and ruling class in Ghana to lead selflessly, putting the interests and needs of the people above personal gain, cannot be overstated. To reset Ghana’s trajectory and restore its position as a lodestar of African excellence, the responsibility for national regeneration and development lies on each Ghanaian’s shoulders.

Should we, God forbid, squander this opportunity once again, we will have no one else to blame but ourselves.

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