On Thursday, February 21, 2013, President John Dramani Mahama gave hope to Ghanaians in his maiden State of the Nation Address to the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic when he urged them not to despair, in spite of the challenges then facing them.
At that time, Ghanaians had to deal with erratic and frustrating electricity supply and new prices for petroleum products but the President?s address brought hope to many of them.
One year on, some of the nagging problems still exist, with the major one being the fall in the value of the cedi which has exacerbated the already difficult economic situation.
That is why many have received the President?s assurance of better days with some skepticism. To many, the address is like many that we have been given since the return to democratic governance in January 1993.
They say many of the addresses by successive Presidents, though good intentioned, have not been actualised, with the result that every year the addresses sound like familiar stories we have heard over and over again.
We do not begrudge those people.
The President has given assurance of many programmes and projects to be undertaken by the government within the next year and beyond.
Speaking on his four basic pillars of people first, a strong and resilient economy, expanding infrastructure for growth and the maintenance of a transparent and accountable governance, President Mahama exuded hope for better days ahead.
We note that more families are to become beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, that an additional 1,600 CHPS compounds are to be built and work on the first 50 of the much talked about 200 new senior high schools will begin next week.
We also acknowledge that the two new universities established recently are making progress, albeit slowly, and that the next is on course to be set up in the Eastern Region.
The President spoke on these and many more in his address.
As an institution clothed with the mandate to help the public hold the government accountable, the Daily Graphic will keep a close eye on the promises made by the President in his address.
We promise to remind the President of his promises because we believe that in theory the address holds a lot of promise for the economy which, by extension, will ensure that other sectors of our national life could greatly improve.
Our road network, for example, has been a source of concern to many and the President spoke on plans to start and/or expedite work on many major ones. We will keep the President reminded of these as well.
In the same vein, we urge all, particularly the opposition, not to unnecessarily politicise issues. Let us all offer constructive criticisms and suggestions to the government as a way of ensuring that together we will build a Ghana that we shall be proud of and in which generations unborn can be prosperous in their undertakings.
As the President himself said, ?We are in the midst of change.?
Daily Graphic ?Wednesday, 26 February 2014
