Former president John Dramani Mahama has spoken out about how his government fell short of getting Ghanaians to truly appreciate the socioeconomic progress he oversaw while in office.
He bemoans the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) incapacity to implement the infrastructure projects, policies, and programs that were meant to improve the life of the average person. He cites this as one of the most important lessons he has ever learned as president.
“Since I left office in 2016, I have been thinking through my head what could we have done better. On what mistakes we made that we could correct, several things come to my mind and one of the things was that we were not as forceful in letting the people see what we had done for them. We assumed that they will see it. We did quite a lot”, John Mahama decried.
The former President said this during a question and answer session after he delivered an address at Chatham House in London on Friday, January 27, on the theme “Africa’s Strategic Priorities and Global Role”.
After leading Ghana as its president from 2012 to 2016, John Mahama was asked what the biggest lesson he had learned was.
He mentioned the ground-breaking initiatives included in the party’s renowned “Green Book,” but he swiftly added that the New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s failure to adequately allay public doubt—especially that of the then-opposition—was one that had a negative impact on his administration.
“I learn life’s lessons as they come. You learn those lessons in different areas in terms of human relations, environment and many others. So it will be very difficult to put my finger on a single thing as the most important lesson in my life. I guess that we keep learning in life and those experiences guide me for the future.”
