President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has described his second term as a legacy term with an assurance to give off his best to make it worthwhile.
The President-elect noted that it was not common for a former president to be given another chance at the seat of government and that he sees his victory in the December 7 presidential poll as expression of confidence in him by the Ghanaian people.
In a meeting with the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) at his office in Accra yesterday, Mr Mahama said he would want to go into retirement with a legacy of creating an environment for the takeoff of the country.
“For me, this is a legacy term. I want to give our country my best and go into retirement knowing that we have created the platform and reset our country so that the next generation can come and build on it,” the President-elect said.
To be able to achieve this, Mr Mahama said he would be open to ideas from all Ghanaians including the soon-to-be opposition, the New Patriotic Party.
The task of resetting the country, he noted would be difficult as his government would have to take bold decisions to execute the reforms the country urgently needed.
“Some of the decisions might be unpleasant but they will be in the national interest. Not everything we’ll do will be pleasing to the people but whatever we do must be in the national interest and that will be the guiding principle,” he hinted.
One of the early things towards that reform, President-elect Mahama said would be to revisit the Constitutional Review process by convening a National Validation Conference to relook at some of the recommendations contained in the 2011 work done by the Constitutional Review Commission.
He explained that the validation conference would consider latest developments on the political and governance front like the recent impasse between Parliament and the Judiciary in the declaration of parliamentary seats vacant and others that may not have arisen in 2011.
The priority of the Ghanaian people in the short term, the president-elect however said was a healthy economy that would create jobs and reduce the cost of living.
“The priority is to stabilise the economy, reduce waste and rationalise taxes because Ghana is increasingly becoming a high-cost point in doing business and to remain competitive, we must rationalise the taxes, make them more transparent that investors are attracted to come to our country,” he said.
The President-elect said though President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo sounds upbeat about the third quarter growth, “from the briefing I have, the economy is still very sick and there are many areas we need to work on as quickly as possible especially the energy sector.”
Chairman and president of the GPCC, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, encouraged the President-elect to take the opportunity of a second term after eight years in opposition to make a positive mark for himself and be remembered kindly by generations.
“Once God has granted you with this opportunity, you need to grasp it with your two hands because this sort of opportunity does not come to many people especially to have to lead a nation twice. We pray that you grab this opportunity and this time do good with it.
“We know that you have experience but that is king enough. We know that God has great and new wonderful ideas ahead. We pray that God pours all his ideas on you for the sake of his nation,” Apostle Nyamekye said.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
