Don’t praise Mahama for low-hanging fruit; at UPSA, he would be a struggling student – Lecturer

A Lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Ishak Ibrahim, has stated that there is no need to praise President John Dramani Mahama for his accomplishments in his first 120 days in office, as most of them were “low-hanging fruits.”

President Mahama, delivering a national address on Wednesday, May 7, to give an account of his first 120 days in office, highlighted the progress made so far, describing it as evidence of a new governance approach rooted in transparency, accountability, efficiency, and urgency.

The President noted that his administration had fulfilled all initial commitments made within the 120-day period and urged citizens to rally around a common purpose to confront national challenges and build a more prosperous and united future.

“We laid out a social contract with you, the people of Ghana, with specific promises for this critical initial period. Tonight, I’m pleased to report that we have fulfilled these promises — from forming a lean government and establishing a robust code of conduct to taking decisive action to scrap burdensome taxes, initiating inquiries into past wrongdoings, launching major job creation programs, tackling illegal mining, reviving our environment, promoting our tourism and export sectors, streamlining scholarships, supporting vulnerable populations, and holding our security agencies accountable,” he stated.

However, speaking on Metro TV on Friday, May 9, 2025, Ishak Ibrahim, a scholar and politician with sympathies toward the New Patriotic Party (NPP), said that judging by evaluations from some individuals and institutions, President Mahama could be described as a struggling student.

“IMANI Ghana, for example, gave President Mahama 50%. Joy News gave him 52%, and others gave 48%. You call upon me as an academic to pass my judgment. President Mahama says 100% — that is the assessment of an ambitious student. But if you look at the objective assessments by others, like IMANI Ghana, this is a struggling student.

“A score of 50% is a struggling student. If he were a student at UPSA, one mark less and he would be a re-sit student. One mark less is a ‘D’ — and a ‘D’ means a re-sit. So, according to IMANI Ghana, he’s just barely passed. We can call him a struggling student.

“I said some of these promises were low-hanging fruits. You cannot score highly for simply resolving low-hanging fruits, such as appointing a cabinet within 14 days. Should we award high marks for that? Even with the abolition of the E-Levy and Betting Tax — again, these are low-hanging fruits. Abolishing is easy, but when it comes to the heavy lifting, the government has run away from it.”

KA

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