The President-elect, who doubles as a former president of the country, Mr John Dramani Mahama, on Monday delivered a victory speech moments after the Electoral Commission declared him the winner of the December 7, 2024 Presidential Election.
Such speeches are expected but the truth is over the years politicians have mostly failed to live by their own words.
In the light of this, some think such speeches have become mundane and as such must not be given much attention.
However, The Ghanaian Times holds a contrary view – that speeches have become appendages of leadership and are vehicles by which leaders pour out their thoughts to their people.
One big thing about speeches is that they can be used to demand accountability from leaders; they become reference point to remind the leader of the direction he has promised to follow or the need to change the direction for the better.
From now on, particularly from the day of his inauguration as the President of the country on January 7, 2025, Mr Mahama would make countless speeches and each of them would, at least, raise an issue or two for public discourse.
For today, The Ghanaian Times likes to pick an issue the soon-to-be-inaugurated President of Ghana has raised in his victory speech – salvaging and resetting the country.
The phrase “salvaging and resetting the country” sounds very political as it gives the impression the outgoing managers of the country have put it in harm’s way and something urgent needs to be done to get it on a safe path.
Others may view the expression in different perspectives and even do some disputations, yet the bottom line is that the country needs some fixing or resetting.
That resetting must be one that can bring about tangible changes that can make the country, as Mr Mahama puts it, a place where it is not enough to be born but must also be where to live with satisfaction.
The Ghanaian Times suggests that at the centre of the resetting must be change of negative attitudes and Mr Mahama must lead that crusade and make sure his appointees in particular and, of course, all Ghanaians pay heed to whatever positive things should be fixed.
That is to say that every Ghanaian must be part of the solutions to the problems affecting the country.
This is because problems like environmental uncleanliness and disorderly physical development are caused by all the people.
Corruption in all forms and shapes must stop.
Also court cases must be disposed off in good time.
In the new Ghana, the law must work and those big people who go pleading for offenders of the law must retire from that or be named and shamed.
Besides, in the new Ghana, the incoming National Democratic Congress (NDC) government must be prepared to uphold the national interest to the extent of maintaining policies and social interventions initiated by the outgoing New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, as well as completing its unfinished projects.
The list of what to do to reset the country is tall but hopefully, President Mahama is experienced and competent enough to fix the odds