John Mahama begins ‘Hard Talk’, interacts with random people

The Presidential Candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), H.E John Mahama has commenced an interaction section with Ghanaians to answer pertinent questions bothering them on the manifesto promises made by the NDC.

The section dubbed ‘Let’s Talk Initiative’ allows the former president to discuss lots of issues via Zoom and email exchanges to clear all doubts in the minds of electorates and Ghanaians who are concerned with policy trends in the country.

In a video on his Facebook page on Wednesday, December 2, 2020, Mr Mahama answers a question from Selasi, a resident of Madina who reached out to the NDC flagbearer’s office on Zoom.

Selasi, who had read the NDC ‘People’s Manifesto’, indicated that the pledges looked good on paper and quizzed: “how committed are you to deliver on these promises? How can we be sure that they are not just campaign promises meant only to bring you votes? Are they the real deal? and are you [Mahama] the real deal?”

In his answer to Selasi which he termed as ‘Hard Talk’, the NDC leader stated, “I know how to exactly ensure the execution of the promises we are making. It’s not political rhetoric, it’s not election propaganda; it is the real deal, it is what I want to accomplish.”

Mahama continued, “If for nothing at all, God and the Ghanaian people have put me in the highest positions of responsibility; first as a vice president and then as president for one term. To me, this means I have a mission, and this is how I see it, a mission to work with you to leave a legacy for Ghana, for us as a people and for God.”

“My mission, my legacy as a politician is to build a solid economic, social and digital infrastructure with 100% access for all. This is the only way Ghana can become a truly developed country. I began that mission during the first 4 years as president.

“I now ask my fellow Ghanaians for another 4 years which will enable to deliver the full package to complete my legacy. For me, it’s not a game; it’s not a vain quest for power. That is why I don’t just promise. All I have said, we would accomplish,” Mr Mahama assured.

He said the promises are from the “issues you the people of Ghana told us are your priorities” and pledged that “it is my personal mission to leave a fundamental legacy for my people.”

Not A Daydreamer

In another answer to a question posed by a lady about whether or not his promises were mere dreams, Mr Mahama said: “No, I’m definitely not a daydreamer…I’m a builder with a vision for Ghana and I have the best possible team to help me deliver my mission – the NDC”.

Mr Mahama, who served as Vice-President to President John Evans Atta Mills from 2009 to mid 2012 and was subsequently elected into office as the president of the Republic in December 2012, stated the available data about his performance ” is incontrovertible.”

“From 2009 to 2016, Ghana witnessed its greatest economy and social boom in its entire history…During those eight years, the NDC, indeed, transformed Ghana and changed Ghanaian lives for the better but there was a lot more we could have done,” he indicated.

“We moved upward from a low-income country to a lower-middle-income country and even if we had two difficult years, the GDP grew from $28.5 billion in 2008 to $55 billion in 2016,” he said “We almost doubled Ghana’s GDP in just eight years. In 2008, only 60 percent of Ghanaians had access to electricity, in 2016, we reached almost 80 percent access and so on.

“You don’t have to take my word on this, the data is there for everyone to see,” Mahama urged and stressed, “So, yes! I can deliver and the NDC can deliver because we’ve done it before.”