Must Read: President Mahama’s first 120 days promise – Here’s all you need to know

His Excellency John Dramani Mahama has made a historic comeback as the President of the Republic of Ghana. He was officially sworn into office alongside his Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, on Tuesday, 7th January 2025, in a ceremony at the Black Star Square in Accra.

Ahead of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, President Mahama unveiled an ambitious plan to deliver key reforms and initiatives within his first 120 days in office.

In his presidential acceptance speech, President Mahama emphasised his commitment to economic recovery, governance reforms, and job creation. He pledged to prioritise stabilising the economy, improving infrastructure, strengthening healthcare systems, and promoting accountability.

He stated:

My brothers and sisters, actions have always spoken louder than words. With that in mind, I have entered into a covenant with you, the good people of Ghana, in which I have enumerated 26 actions that I'll take within my first 120 days. There is reason for hope, and there is every reason for hope.

But we must also have faith, because faith empowers us to trust the things that will happen. With faith, you believe what you know. And that is why we need faith to be able to achieve our reset.

With a focus on implementing a 24-hour economy to boost employment and productivity, the President assured Ghanaians of swift and decisive actions to address the country’s challenges and set it on a path of sustainable growth.

President Mahama’s First 120 Days Social Contract:

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 within the first 90 days in office.

3. Establish a robust code of conduct and standards for all government officials.

4. Hold a National Economic Dialogue to discuss the true state of the economy and prepare a homegrown fiscal consolidation programme to guide the budget.

5. Scrap draconian taxes within 90 days, including the E-Levy, COVID levy, 10% levy on bet winnings, and Emissions levy.

6. Review taxes and levies on vehicles and equipment imported for industrial and agricultural purposes.

7. Commence drafting legal amendments and prepare to implement the 24-Hour Economy Policy under the Office of the President.

8. Establish an Accelerated Export Development Council (AEDC) to promote exports as part of a broader economic transformation strategy.

9. Convene a national consultative conference on education to build consensus on needed improvements in the sector.

10. Implement the ‘No-Academic-Fee’ policy for all first-year students in public tertiary institutions.

11. Introduce new social interventions, including Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities and the Ghana Medical Care Trust (MahamaCares) Fund.

12. Distribute free sanitary pads to female students in primary and secondary schools.

13. Institute forensic audits into major public interest cases, including the collapse of banks, COVID-19 expenditure, the National Cathedral scandal, SML and missing excavators, among others.

14. Ban political appointees from purchasing state assets.

15. Allocate seed funding for the establishment of the Women’s Development Bank.

16. Launch priority job creation programmes, including the ‘Adwumawura’ Programme, the ‘National Apprenticeship Programme,’ and the ‘One Million Coders Programme.’

17. Commence reviewing the Customs (Amendment) Act 2020 to lift the ban on the importation of salvaged vehicles and revive the local automotive industry.

18. Lay a new bill in parliament to streamline government scholarship administration to eliminate political patronage, cronyism, nepotism, and corruption.

19. Ban illegal mining and launch the ‘Tree for Life’ and ‘Blue Water Initiative’ to rehabilitate degraded lands and water bodies.

20. Transform Ghana into a top tourist destination through ‘The Black Star Experience’ initiative.

21. Purge state security agencies of militia and vigilante elements.

22. Reopen investigations into unresolved criminal cases, including election killings, by-election violence, and the murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale.

23. Investigate the VRA dam spillage disaster that displaced thousands and destroyed livelihoods in several regions.

24. Compensate flood victims in affected regions, including Oti, Bono East, and Savanna.

25. Restructure loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to make them profitable.

President Mahama’s 120-day agenda seeks to address pressing national challenges, promote inclusivity, and restore economic stability. These promises will be keenly monitored by Ghanaians.

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