First 100 days: IMANI scores Mahama 47%

The First 100 days have become a critical period the world over, for a new administration to reshape a nation according to its own agenda and vision.

In the case of President John Mahama, this agenda and vision can be summed up into the “Better Ghana Agenda”—a policy vision, which according to the Presidency and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), is aimed at correcting several shortcomings of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) era in the areas of the economy, employment, the environment, health, education, the utilities among others.

It is exactly 100 days today since John Mahama’s election as fourth President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. We bring you assessments from policy and governance analysts on how his administration has done so far.

IMANI Ghana’s Franklin Cudjoe thinks John Mahama in his first 100 days, has shown clear commitment and provided resources in building the gas infrastructure to the point of 33%.

According to IMANI, the President has also “elevated the ministry of women affairs to focus on general issues of social protection and that is very good”.

But IMANI believes the answers to the basic economic question of solving resource allocation is clearly not an agenda that seems to meet the urgency of the difficulties the country is currently facing.

Policy think tank, IMANI Ghana, also thinks the “next 100 days should now focus on filling the gaps in our structural and cyclical illogical policy making and implementation environment”.

According to IMANI, seeing that the Presidency has not changed in the last 10 months, the efforts attempted at solving the larger problems in the country makes a comfortable 47% rating.

Centre for Advanced Strategic Analysis (CASA), a strategic planning and security organisation, was brief in their assessment. They believe the first 100 days have been characterised by labour strikes, power crisis, water challenges etc. and these have overshadowed President Mahama’s performance or the perception as to how well he is doing or has done.

So going forward, CASA thinks President Mahama’s administration “needs to tackle the incidence of galamsey in the country”.

Media reports show that illegal, small scale mining, or galamsey, has become more than an environmental problem, but is now also a security problem.

Recently more than 30 Chinese miners armed with guns and ammunition, obviously to guard their concessions, were rooted out by security forces in the Ashanti region.

Unfortunately, previous and the current governments have not had the political will to decisively stamp out the menace of illegal mining in the country.

CASA also admonished the current administration “to work towards uniting a very divided country and set clear, measurable, objective targets which can be verifiable over time”.

So is John Mahama’s administration on track towards delivering on his “Better Ghana Agenda”?