• Politics

    Mahama’s 46 promises he didn’t fulfil after winning 2012 elections – Report

    Former President John Mahama’s previous “lavish campaign promises”, which were left unfulfilled, have been dugged and brought to bare, following the official launch of his 2024 campaign over the weekend to be elected President again.

    The former President, who served as Vice President from 2009 to 2012, and as President from 2012 to 2017, officially launched another bid to be elected President again, after losing power in 2016 and failing to win back power in 2020.

    However, after his official campaign launch, which was laced with some big promises, Mahama’s past, as far as campaign promises and deliveries are concerned, have been revisited.

    Abdul Razak Yando, a political scientist, in an open article copied to Ghanaguardian.com, has questioned the sincerity of former President Mahama making many political promises because according to the analyst, Mahama has a history of making political promises and not fulfilling them when given the chance.

    “As Mahama has launched his campaign, laced with promises, it is important to interrogate how he fared the last time heade juicy promises to Ghanaians and was given the opportunity to lead the country between 2012 and 2016,” Abdul Razak Yando wrote.

    “It is important for questions to be asked of the former President, especially for young voters who have just turned 18 years, to know how the only former President who will be on the ballot in the 2024 elections, performed when they were 12 years, as far as some major promises he made to the country are concerned.”

    ” Unfortunately, a detailed analysis of former President Mahama’s 2012 Manifesto, revealed that the former President, after being elected as President, did not fulfil many lavish promises,” continued the political analyst.

    “As many as 46 big promises made by John Mahama during the 2012 elections were not fulfilled after Ghanaians voted for him as President,” he said in the article, and provided a list of all the 46 failed promises.

    Below is the full article

    EXPOSING 46 ‘CAMPAIGN LIES’ OF JOHN MAHAMA AS PRESIDENT, FOLLOWING THE LAUNCH OF ANOTHER CAMPAIGN

    By Abdul Razak Yando (Political Scientist)

    Former President John Dramani Mahama will be appearing as Presidential Candidate for the NDC, once again, in December 2024, as Ghana goes to the polls to choose a President.

    Mahama, following the completion of late President Mills’ remaining six months as President, as well as his own full term from 2013 to 2017, will be the only former President on the ballot, seeking to be voted for again as President.


    What this means is that Mahama, as a former President who has led this country before, has a history and a record as President, as far as campaign promises and delivering those promises are concerned.

    Prior to his election in 2012 as President, Mahama made promises and also presented a manifesto to the people of Ghana, titled “advancing the better Ghana agenda,” to woo Ghanaians to vote for him.

    Majority of Ghanaians, perhaps, were wooed by the sweet promises of John Mahama in 2012 and voted for him to be Ghana’s 4th President of the 4th Republic from 2012 to 2017.

    Last Saturday in Tamale, the former President launched another campaign, seeking to win the votes of Ghanaians to return to the Presidency, after he lost power in 2016 and failed at the polls again in 2020. The campaign launch, unsurprisingly, was full of yet another promises by the former President and his party officials, many of whom served in his erstwhile government.


    As Mahama has launched his campaign, laced with promises, it is important to interrogate how he fared the last time he made juicy promises to Ghanaians and was given the opportunity to lead the country between 2012 and 2017.

    It is important for questions to be asked of the former President, especially for young voters who have just turned 18 years and are eligible to vote, to know how the only former President who will be on the ballot in the 2024 elections, performed when they were 12 years, as far as some major promises he made to the country are concerned.

    To intensely interrogate John Mahama’s history on making promises and fulfilling same or otherwise, is essential in taking what he is promising now seriously or not.

    Unfortunately, a detailed analysis of former President Mahama’s 2012 Manifesto, revealed that the former President, after being elected as President, did not fulfil many lavish promises he made to the people of Ghana in many sectors.

    As many as 46 major promises made by John Mahama during the 2012 elections were not fulfilled after Ghanaians voted for him as President.

    Below are the 46 unfulfilled promises by John Mahama as President of Ghana. You may call them lies or deception by Mahama, but the fact is that he made these lavish promises, but he failed to fulfill or achieve them as President.

    Interestingly, as President, Mahama had 4 years, or 1460 days to fulfill these promises, but he could not, until he heavily lost the 2016 election.

    Here they are, the promises, as contained in the 2012 NDC Manifesto, which is publicly available for scrutiny.

    1. Strengthen the CHRAJ to fight corruption – even without an “explicit complainant”.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    2. Abolish the Office of Accountability that Ghanaians believe protects corrupt officials.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    3. Revise the law on Asset Declaration to increase transparency and accountability.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    4. Enact a Freedom of Information Bill so the public has access to official information to enhance the fight against corruption.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    5. Place an upper limit on the number of Justices on the Supreme Court.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    6. Separate the Attorney General from the Ministry of Justice – for efficiency and transparency.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    7. Reverse Ghana’s image as an easy target for money laundering and drug transport point.

    Verdict: unfulfilled. Ghana was internationally renowned as a drug transit point.

    8. Introduce special tax rates to financial institutions that lend to priority sectors, agriculture, industry, services and micro-, small and medium sized businesses and pensions.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    9. Develop limestone deposits at Buipe, Nauli and Nadowli for cement.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    10. Rejuvenate the textile industry, from seed production to processing and printing.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    11. Establish shea processing in all northern regions to achieve 50,000 tons per year.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    12. Support salt processing to benefit the communities and the petrochemical industry.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    13. Rehabilitate abandoned but viable manufacturing enterprises, such as Kumasi Jute, Aboso Glass, Tannery and Coir Fibre, Pomadze Poultry.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    14. Explore an integrated Iron and Steel industry at Oppon Manso.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    15. Create a special pension scheme to encourage farmers and fishermen associations.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    17. Set up a Ghana Commodities Exchange to provide post-harvest infrastructure, trading standards.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    18. Process at least 60% of the cocoa produce locally, including plans for another Cocoa Processing Factory in the Western Region to reduce transport problems and increase jobs.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    19. Improve fish stocks through education and enforcement by an equipped Navy.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    20. Reduce post-harvest losses: increase storage, processing, freezers and ice facilities.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    21. Correct the quality and management problems of pre-mix fuel.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    22. Improve capacity of small-scale operations and reduce illegal galamsey.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    23. Implement a One-time national health insurance premium.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    24. Pay licensed teachers a professional allowance of 15% of the basic salary.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    25. Pay technical-vocational education teachers an addition 10% allowance of basic salary.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    26. Pay teachers in deprived areas an additional allowance of 20% of basic salary.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    27. Schools under trees will end by 2016

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    27. Build two technical schools in each district.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    28. Rehabilitate and upgrade all technical schools.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    29. Construct a new railway line: Kumasi through Wa to Hamile.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    30. Establish 2 more landing points on the Volta River to reduce transport distances.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    31. Develop the petrochemical industry utilizing local and imported natural gas and Ghana salt.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    32. Double TOR’s capacity toward processing Ghana’s oil.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    33. constructing two hundred (200) new Community Day Senior High Schools where these do not exist.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    34. Establish ten (10) new Colleges of Education in the medium term to be located in areas currently not well-served and in anticipation of the increase in student numbers on account of our increased access to education programme;

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    35. An average GDP growth rate of at least 8% per annum;

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    36. A single digit rate of inflation;

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    37. An overall budget deficit equivalent to 5% of GDP.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    38. Gross international reserves that will cover not less than four months of imports.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    39. Overall, our economic policies and programmes will aim at the attainment of a per capita income of at least US$2,300 by year 2016.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    40. An integrated petroleum industry based on bauxite;

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    41. A petro-chemical industry based on salt and natural gas;

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    42. A fertilizer industry to give impetus to agro-development.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    43. A salt-based chemical industry for caustic soda. Verdict: unfulfilled

    44. Allied consumer products and exports based on oil and gas; and • An integrated iron and steel industry based on the iron ore deposits at Oppon Manso in the Western Region

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    45. Address gender inequality by ensuring the expeditious enactment of the Affirmative Action Act

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    46. To establish a commission of enquiry to investigate matters related to public land acquisitions.

    Verdict: unfulfilled

    Source: ghanaguardian.com

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