2025 SONA: The agenda is set, the implementation is key. All hands on deck
The President, John Dramani Mahama, last Thursday delivered his first State of the Nation Address to Ghanaians at the Parliament House since he assumed the reins of the country in January for the second time. This was his fifth time as the President of the country.
As per Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution of the republic, he is expected “at the beginning of each session of Parliament and before a dissolution of Parliament, deliver to Parliament a message on the state of the nation.”
The President of the Republic of Ghana delivers an annual address to the representatives of the people in Parliament on all aspects of governance and development. The Ghanaian State of the Nation Address is similar to the Union Address of the United States of America, which is also held annually in the chamber of the USA House of Representatives to Congress.
The President used the occasion to provide highlights of the nation’s challenges and gave outlines on how they were going to be solved. He highlighted the challenges he has observed since taking over the administration of the country and catalogued some key policy directions in the areas of the economy, agriculture; energy, education, health, decentralisation and local government, security, and sports among others.
Conspicuously absent was the fifth and immediate past President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Like all other SONA presentations, this year was full of pomp and pageantry, characterised by the display of the rich Ghanaian traditional and military culture. It was attended by high-ranking government officials, former President John Agyekum Kufour, members of the diplomatic corps, leaders of the opposition political parties, and heads of the security agencies, among others.
The heavy attendance by such distinguished individuals obviously depicts the seriousness as well as the high importance of the event to the good people of Ghana and also explains why it is enshrined in the constitution of this country.
It was, however, not devoid of drama. Members of the Majority caucus were clad predominantly in white; the other divide of the chamber was predominantly black, colours that generally depict the emotions and moods of members. For the members of the Majority, the white symbolised the hope the new administration brought to the people of Ghana while the Minority believed it was the old dead stories without hope.
Both divide engaged in chants, with the opposition MPs chanting parts of the National Anthem, emphasising “And help us to resist oppressor’s rule” when the Speaker apparently requested the Minority Leader to bring his remarks to an end, believing Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin had taken too much time.
The question is, can’t our MPs comport themselves for once? The chanting and the interjections by the MPs from both sides, which propelled the Speaker to call them to order on several occasions, called for condemnation because such other actions by our men and women of the August House especially during State of the Nation Addresses are becoming one too many. It has become a worry to many a well-meaning Ghanaian. It has now reached an alarming level and simply put; it is very shameful.
After he observed God’s providence in the country, the President told the nation that after looking into the books, the problem was more severe than we thought. His disclosure that Ghana’s public debt has soared to GH¢721 billion, placing immense pressure on the country’s economy, was disheartening. His exposure to the dire financial condition of some major state-owned enterprises, including the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), sent a chill down the spine of many a Ghanaian.
Contrary to what the former President, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, stated in his last SONA that the country was not broke, President Mahama provided vivid accounts of the state of the economy.
Nana Akufo-Addo had told the nation that “Ghana is not broke, contrary to what the propagandists are saying. We are handing over a country with gross international reserves worth 8 billion US Dollars, former President Akufo-Addo said during the presentation of his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) on January 3, 2025.
According to President Mahama, Ghana COCOBOD, the hope of cocoa farmers, is highly indebted. Its balance sheet indicates a total debt of GH¢32.5 billion, of which GH¢9.7 billion is due to be paid by the end of September 2025. There are also huge national debt in the road sector, with 54 projects stalled across the country chiefly due to lack of funds.
These revelations underscore the severity of Ghana’s economic crisis, reinforcing the urgent need for financial restructuring and responsible governance to restore stability. The uncovered corruption cases and mismanagement of resources mentioned by the President are worrying, to say the least. Corruption, they say, is the enemy of development and of good governance. It is detrimental to national progress.
Yesterday’s event will leave indelible memories in the minds of Ghanaians as the President spoke to his countrymen with high confidence and an impactful demeanour, assuring them not to shift blame but to lead in solving the challenges. He declared, “It is not my style to lament and shift blame when confronted with challenges. My approach is to accept challenges and work hard to resolve them. Indeed, this is precisely what the people of Ghana elect me to do.”
The President’s assurance to the nation that he had not come to the House to lament on the state of our country, though there is much to lament about, but rather has a deeper understanding of why he was elected with such high voter confidence, and that is to solve Ghana’s problems bring hope and a level of joy in the hearts of Ghanaians.
His message of hope, however, was about his determination and declaration to fix the economic crisis and reset it for the growth of prosperity is quite refreshing. His assurance of the continuation of the free Senior High School policy and even making it better is intriguing.
So assuring was President Mahama’s commitment to honour payment to bondholders.
The Big Push and the 24-hour economy policies bring confidence in the national economy and hope to the Ghanaians. This, according to the manifesto of the ruling party, is aimed at transforming Ghana into an import substitution and export-led economy.” The idea is that with increased activity, more jobs can be created, in particular in non-traditional hours. This is obviously good for a country such as ours.
Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we all want to experience and enjoy. There is an urgent need for long-term development that considers environmental and social factors. President Mahama’s guest to address this is a relief to Ghanaians according to him, “the pollution levels in major rivers within the Southwestern Basin are critically high, with turbidity levels far exceeding permissible limits. To combat this urgent crisis, we are implementing a proactive approach that includes robust and impartial law enforcement, meaningful stakeholder engagement, and the creation of alternative livelihood programmes,” he said.
The “Nkoko nketenkete’ project, which is aimed at covering 54,000 households, the land banks project also provides jobs for about 30 thousand young people and the provision for a Women’s Bank to facilitate women’s prosperity in the country is all health warming.
The content of the SONA suggests that prioritising human development is the most important aspect of leadership. Of course, it is said that the growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership. National leadership exists to lead for prosperity and security.
The vision has been laid clear. What is next is the practicality of all these. All hands must be on deck to see the reality for ourselves.
BY NANA SIFA TWUM
