President-elect John Dramani Mahama has expressed his awareness of the difficult task ahead as he prepares to take over the administration of Ghana from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in early 2025.
During a courtesy visit by the United Nations (UN), Mahama acknowledged the challenges awaiting him, emphasizing that the road ahead would not be easy. However, he remains determined to tackle these challenges with the help of international agencies, including the UN.
“I don’t think it’s going to be an easy task,” Mahama said, reflecting on the responsibilities that lie ahead.
While recognizing the daunting task before him, Mahama expressed gratitude for the strong mandate given to him by the Ghanaian electorate in the 2024 Presidential election. He highlighted that while he expected to win, the scale of his victory was a pleasant surprise.
“It’s going to be quite tough and I anticipated that we are going to win, but I didn’t anticipate the margin by which we were going to win, and that is an indication. We exceeded our expectations and so managing that expectation, we need to work as quickly as possible, is something our team has to look at,” he said.
As he prepares for his upcoming administration, Mahama urged the UN to provide crucial support to help address the country’s economic challenges.
“We need you more now than ever before because of the crisis…Of course, we all know that Ghana is very important in the geopolitics in West Africa and Africa in terms of upholding democracy and being the model of peace and security,” he said. “It is something we want to restore as quickly as possible and so we are looking forward to working with you.”
Mahama also discussed the need for a review of the country’s economic programmes to align with current realities. He mentioned that his team has already engaged with international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and is looking forward to continued discussions with these agencies.
“Looking at the excess programme, we need to treat them to meet the realities of today. We have had discussions with the World Bank and the IMF already and we look to an early engagement so that we can continue on the same,” Mahama said.
In his interaction with the UN, Mahama also touched on key areas of governance that would need attention during his administration, including debt repayments, increasing women’s participation in governance, and ensuring food security.
“With all the agencies…we are happy to continue engagement and see how we can strengthen, uplift the cooperation in the work we do together,” Mahama concluded.
