In a strategic move to ensure that the 26 policies he promised to implement within his first 120 days in office are delivered on time, President John Dramani Mahama has inaugurated a special taskforce to oversee their execution across all critical sectors.
In his speech at the inauguration of the taskforce, President Mahama attributed his win to the people’s trust in his governments policies and charged members of the team to work to uphold its end of the bargain.
“As part of our social contract with the people of Ghana for which they gave us this massive mandate, we came with a 120 day plan that contains a list of some things we intend to achieve within the first 120 days. Of course, several of these things are sectoral, and so it was not possible to conduct this meeting before the ministers of the various sectors had been vetted and sworn in”
President John Dramani Mahama
The 34-day old President explained that the initial inability of his government to work on all the policies was because most of them required a fully formed and functional government, which he now had.
However, he talked about the successful execution of his policy to nominate within the first 14 days in office, the complete list of cabinet ministers for parliamentary approval.
“We achieved that,” he said proudly. It is worthy to note that the timely completion of the policy was imperative in helping him constitute the full government he needed to facilitate the implementation of the more involved and complex policies left.
President Mahama hinted at the “background” work that has “quietly” already begun since some of the ministers assumed office, after which he zoned in on the purpose of the meeting.
The meeting was geared towards establishing trained focus on the respective sectors and ministries, where the remainder of the 26 policies fell for swift completion. This was the criteria for the selection of the ministers who were part of the taskforce.
“This meeting is meant to focus sectorally on the things that fall within your sectors, and that’s why you’ve been chosen, because many of those issues are within the sectors that you are ministers of, so that we can hone in and make sure that we achieve them on targets”
President John Dramani Mahama
Referencing the chronological order of his 120-day “social contract” policies, he reminded the taskforce to adhere to the timeline, paying attention to the ones that were next on the list.
Aside from his 14-day ministerial nomination list, the president has also re-opened the probe into the 2020 election killings, is establishing a robust code of conduct and standards for all government officials, and constituting the cleanest and most efficient government as promised.
Some of his 120-day policies yet to be executed include instituting a forensic audit into the banking sector collapse and other cases, implementing the ‘No-Academic-Fee’ policy for all first year students in public tertiary institutions and drafting the needed legal amendments to prepare for implementing a 24 hours economy.
There’s also his promise to institute a government policy banning political appointees from purchasing state assets, scrap E-levy amongst other unpopular taxes and levies, and hold a national economic dialogue to discuss home grown fiscal consolidation.
“Some are within ninety days” he expressed, highlighting the need for all the selected ministers of the taskforce to expedite government business in their fields. “So all of you are supposed to focus on your sectors and work so that we achieve all the targets that we set ourselves in the 120-day plan”, he mandated them.
In his bid for smooth deliverability on those policies that were not standalone and needed the collaboration of other sectors and ministers to be realized, he prompted swift action on the part of those responsible.
“For instance, the removal of some taxes and rationalization of taxes can only be in the budget because you need to do revenue measures and put those tax instruments before parliament”
President John Dramani Mahama
The President announced the Senior Presidential Adviser on Government Affairs, Dr. Valerie Sawyerr as the “chair” of the taskforce.
He charged all the ministers to “work closely” with her, since she is the one going to lead the efforts of the taskforce, to ensure they remained “faithful to the mandate” that the electorate have given them.
“We’ll now discuss the nitty gritty. Look at where we have reached, some of the things like the National Economic Dialogue; the planning committee is working on the constitutional review. We’ve set up the committee and so that work is happening”
President John Dramani Mahama
He further gave a nod to the Minister of Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu “who was amongst the earliest to be sworn in” for his “quite fast” movement “with the issue of the National Educational Review”, and challenged the other ministers to emulate his responsiveness.
Their mission as members of the social contract taskforce was to look into their respective sector ministries and “the promises that we made, and then work as quickly as possible with the senior presidential adviser on governmental affairs” to achieve the targets that the government set for themselves and the people of Ghana.
Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson; Energy Minister, Mr John Abu Jinapor; Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Madam Elizabeth Ofosu Agyare; Education Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu and Dr Dominic Akurutinga Ayine, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice were all part of the taskforce.
Dr. Valerie Sawyerr, the chairperson for the 120-day “social contract” taskforce, addressed the president and promised her team would work to ensure that Ghanaians were not disappointed in the end.
“By the honor you have bestowed upon us and the confidence you have reposed in us, we know how seriously you take your promises to the people of Ghana. Each promise is best with deep thinking, painstaking calculation, and consideration of various permutations to ensure they are viable, doable, and sustainable”.
“We know your word is your bond and woe besides anyone who stands in the way of the performance of your promises to the people of Ghana. Therefore, we pledge to use our utmost endeavors to ensure that we perform on the mandates that you have given us. We will not fail you. We will not fail the people of Ghana”
Dr. Valerie Sawyerr, Senior Presidential Adviser on Government Affairs.
