President-elect John Dramani Mahama has today, outlined a 26-point plan for his first 120 days in office, pledging to tackle Ghana’s most pressing economic, educational and governance challenges.

The comprehensive agenda, which he has dubbed a “social contract” with the Ghanaian people, includes measures to stimulate economic growth, improve access to education and healthcare, and promote transparency and accountability in government.

Economy

  1. Nominate all cabinet ministers for parliamentary approval within the first 14 days.
  2. Constitute the leanest and most efficient government under the fourth republic within the first 90 days.
  3. Establish a robust code of conduct and standards for all government officials.
  4. Hold a national economic dialogue to discuss the true state of the economy and prepare a homegrown fiscal consolidation program.
  5. Scrap the E-levy, COVID levy, 10% levy on bet winnings, and emissions levy within the first 90 days.
  6. Review taxes and levies on vehicles and equipment imported for industrial and agricultural purposes.

Education and Social Intervention

  1. Implement the “No-Academic-Fee” policy for all first-year students in public tertiary institutions.
  2. Introduce free tertiary education for persons with disabilities.
  3. Establish the Ghana Medical Care Trust (MahamaCares) Fund.
  4. Commence the distribution of free sanitary pads to female students in primary and secondary schools.

Governance and Accountability

  1. Institute forensic audits into the collapse of indigenous Ghanaian banks and financial institutions, illegal printing of money, and other matters of public interest.
  2. Institute a government policy banning political appointees from purchasing state assets.
  3. Allocate seed money for the establishment of the Women’s Development Bank.
  4. Launch priority job creation programs, including the “Adwumawura” Program, “National Apprenticeship Program,” and “One Million Coders Program.”

Environmental Sustainability and Security

  1. Ban illegal and new mining activities in forest reserves.
  2. Roll out the “Tree for Life” and “Blue Water Initiative” to heal and sustainably harness the environment.
  3. Launch “The Black Star Experience” initiative as Ghana’s flagship Culture, Arts, and Tourism brand.
  4. Commence investigative processes to purge state security agencies of militia and vigilante elements.

Infrastructure Development and Healthcare

  1. Commence the review of the Customs (Amendment) Act 2020 to scrap the law banning the importation of salvaged vehicles.
  2. Lay before parliament a new bill to streamline government scholarship administration.
  3. Reopen investigations into major unresolved criminal cases.
  4. Initiate a probe into the man-made disaster caused by the VRA’s spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams.
  5. Initiate immediate steps to compensate flood victims.
  6. Carry out a shake-up of all loss-making state-owned enterprises and realign them to break even and transition into profit-making.
  7. Establish an Accelerated Export Development Council to promote exports.
  8. Convene a national consultative conference on education to build consensus on needed improvements to the sector.

Filed by Mavis Lamise Amaaba