President John Dramani Mahama will on Thursday, February 27, deliver his State of the Nation Address (SONA) to Parliament.
The SONA, which is in conformity with Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, will afford the President an opportunity to highlight his successes and to unveil the Government’s agenda for this year.
Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, states that the President shall deliver a message on the SONA to Parliament at the start of each session and before the dissolution of Parliament.
President Mahama is likely to weave his message around the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) “Resetting Ghana” agenda which is built around three main themes:
Jobs
The NDC aims to create employment opportunities through initiatives like the 24-hour economy, a Women’s Development Bank, and programmes focused on agriculture, industrialization, and apprenticeships
Accountability
This theme emphasises transparency, good governance, and anti-corruption measures. The NDC promises to reduce the size of government, scrap burdensome taxes, and implement structural reforms to promote economic stability
Prosperity
The party’s goal is to ensure prosperity for all Ghanaians by investing in education, healthcare, and infrastructure development. They also plan to promote agribusiness, industrialisation, and export-driven growth.
These thematic areas are designed to work together to achieve the NDC’s vision of resetting Ghana’s economy and improving the lives of its citizens.
Mr John Dramani Mahama, Ghana’s first non consecutive President in the Fourth Republic is not new to Parliamentary gestures, mannerism and procedures as this SONA will be one of many for him.
Mr Mahama as Vice President became President of Ghana from July 24, 2012 to January 7, 2017, following the death of President John Evans Fiifi Attah Mills. His Vice Presidency lasted from January 2009 to July 2012.
He was elected in 2012 to serve as President which ended in 2016. He sought re-election in the 2016 but failed.
He won the 2024 presidential election with a historic margin, bagging more than 57 per cent of the votes, inspiring a huge Parliamentary majority, more than double the number of the New Patriotic Party(NPP) Minority.
Mr Mahama is the first Ghanaian to have served at all levels of political office, rising from local representation as an Assemblyman in his beloved Bole, Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi, Deputy Minister of Communications, Minister of Communications, Vice President and twice as President.
