President Nana Akufo-Addo has criticized former President John Dramani Mahama, describing him as a failed leader who could not secure a second term due to poor performance.
He asserted that, unlike other past presidents remembered for their significant contributions, Mr. Mahama’s legacy is tied to “Dumsor” — the frequent power outages that plagued his administration.
President Akufo-Addo made these remarks during a speech at the commissioning of the Sekyere Afram Plains District Hospital in Drobonso on Monday, 25th November.
He targeted the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) proposed “24-hour economy” policy, questioning its feasibility under Mr. Mahama’s leadership.
“If he couldn’t maintain a 12-hour power supply during his presidency, how can he promise a 24-hour economy? Stop the lies,” he stated, dismissing the policy as misleading.
In the same address, President Akufo-Addo praised the Free Senior High School (SHS) initiative, describing it as a transformative policy in Ghana’s educational sector.
He emphasized that many young Ghanaians who previously lacked access to secondary education are now benefiting from this programme, which he regards as one of his administration’s most impactful achievements.
The President provided statistics to support his claim, noting that prior to his tenure, over 1,000 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates each year were unable to pursue secondary education due to financial constraints.
According to him, this issue resulted in nearly one million young Ghanaians missing out on further education over a decade because of economic barriers.
“Elsewhere in the world, governments cover the school fees of young people, and we decided that Ghana should do the same,” he explained.
The President further highlighted that under his administration, the number of SHS students has doubled from 800,000 to 1.6 million, with a total of 5.7 million young Ghanaians having benefited from the Free SHS policy so far.
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