“Bohyeba” Mahama and the Catalogue of Unfulfilled Promises

President Mahama is always looking out for Ghanaians to praise him and to show gratitude to him for his numerous promises to bring development to Ghana. This attitude accounts for his insult and reference to Kumasi residents as an ungrateful lot who will never appreciate even if he constructed the streets of Kumasi with pure gold. This unguarded statement was unnecessary, unprecedented and an un-presidential gratuitous insult that must be condemned by all. After this offensive remark, he made a "gargantuan” promise when he visited the newly revived shoe factory at Chirapatre in Kumasi. He instructed the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to roll out free shoes for all school children in Ghana. If he will be able to fulfil this promise, let us look at it in closer detail.

Mahama's inability to control unemployment, inflation, severe hardship, wanton killings, armed robbery and moral decadence, painfully shows that he is losing ground. Due to the inefficiency of Mahama, any presidential candidate that will win the NPP slot in the forthcoming elections, can easily edge out President Mahama. In his attempt to make up for the lost ground, President Mahama on his "thank you" tour after being elected presidential candidate for the December 7th election, having ruled for six months already, made huge promises in a desperate attempt to lure Ghanaians into voting for the NDC. Mahama was not disturbed at all by the numerous promises that remained broken and unfulfilled.

Within seven days after his take-over as President after the death of Prof. J.E. A Mills, Mahama made several promises, with the view that the 2012 general elections could only be won if more promises are made to the electorate, with the hope that they will no longer remember the bunch of broken promises made since 2009. President Mahama promised the people of Brong Ahafo region that government would soon begin the construction of roads and other development projects in the region. On his visit to the region, Mahama said: "There are also some new projects we will be initiating. I can see the queen-mother of Ofuman seated here and I know her people are saying, no roads, no vote. Let me just say that the roads in Ofuman are dear to me personally. We promised in 2008 that the roads will be constructed and with me here are the Roads and Finance Ministers, and I can assure you that before your votes come in December, construction of your roads would have begun."

Typical of our President, he went ahead and promised the construction of Cape Coast Stadium and the Kotokuraba market. As usual and very typical of President Mahama, all the promises made at Ofuman and Cape Coast were empty and unfulfilled promises. As if these were not enough, he went ahead in that same year to declare an action year for the construction of the Suhum-Nsawam road. The road is in a very bad shape and is still under construction up till today. Presenters of many Ghanaian radio stations have expressed concern about the state of the road and the number of lives that have been lost on the road through accidents.

His promise and fail attitude began when he was vice President. He promised the people of the Northern Region that the government was going to contract a loan of $174 million to upgrade the Tamale Airport into an International Airport. Not a single spade has hit the ground to commence the upgrading of the airport. A broken promise indeed!

Mrs. Hannah Bissiw, the Minister for Works and Housing promised on the 28th of May 2012 the construction of 12,000 housing units for teachers and health workers. However, the project has still not been approved up till today. It has become a broken promise. The aim of Mahama's administration was to win the votes of the teachers and the health workers. The persistent effort of the NDC to use empty promises to deceive Ghanaians into voting for them has rendered the Better Ghana Agenda ineffective and ridiculous.

A good President NEVER insults the citizens who pay his compensation package. A good President NEVER insults the very people that he is supposed to lead but has impoverished. A good President gives promises and brings them to fruition. It is time for the President to provide leadership that unites rather than divides. It is time for the President to provide leadership that builds rather than destroys.

Written by Stephen Atta Owusu

Author: Dark Faces at Crossroads Email: [email protected]