President Mahama acknowledges predecessors

President John Dramani Mahama has called on Ghanaians to give their maximum support to the President- elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo just like he enjoyed during his tenure.

 

He said he was happy that Nana Addo had promised to continue with the infrastructural developments of the out-going administration, saying every President inherited the unfinished work of his predecessor.

 

President Mahama, who was delivering his last State of the Nation Address ahead of the dissolution of the sixth Parliament, on Friday, January 6, in Accra, equated politics to a relay race in sports, which required teamwork, cooperative effort, as well as individual achievement.

 

However, he said, the true test was in the passing on of the baton.

He acknowledged the take-off of Ghana’s Fourth Republic with the Former President Jerry John Rawlings starting the structural transformation of the economy under the Economic Recovery Programme, which restored the country to a path of growth.

 

This, he said, became a legacy for President John Agyekum Kufuor, who continued with the Economic Adjustment Programme and under the HIPC initiative achieved significant debt reduction, implementing new social intervention programmes such as the National Health Insurance Scheme and the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.

 

He said the programme was also passed on to the Late President John Evans Atta Mills, who also commenced the Eastern Corridor Road Project, University of Ghana Medical Centre, which was inaugurated on January 4, 2017, the Kotokoraba Market, Cape Coast Stadium and a host of others, which he  inherited and completed.

 

President Mahama stated that regardless of whose tenure in which these visions come to fruition, the success belonged to Ghana and the benefits were for all.

 

He also noted that political opposition and differences of opinion were vital to the health and growth of a democracy, and such were formed when people of similar ideology, came together to move their agenda forward in a way that best served their country.  

 

However, the wellbeing of the nation and the will of the people must always come first, he said, emphasing that, “Partisanship for its own sake, in the end, is no better than dictatorship.

 

“If we look around the world, we can so clearly see the deep divide that blind partisanship is creating in nations with democracies far older than ours. We can see, too, the divide that it is threatening to create in ours if we are not careful,” he said.

 

He said already, it had taken a toll on the morale and sense of optimism of Ghanaians, which he noted, had given way to  cynicism which is also dangerous to the incoming political party.

 

President Mahama, who assumed office on January 7, 2013, hands over to President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo on Saturday, January 7.

 

Source: GNA