John Dramani Mahama was sworn in for a second term as Ghana’s president on Tuesday at a ceremony in the capital Accra, pledging to overcome public discontent by boosting the economy and creating much-needed jobs.
The opposition leader, 66, won the December 7 presidential election by a wide margin to stage a political comeback in the West African nation, the world’s number-two cocoa producer.
He replaces Nana Akufo-Addo, who steps down after serving two terms, continuing Ghana’s democratic tradition in a region gripped elsewhere by military coups and jihadist insurgencies.
Over 20 presidents and heads of state from around the world attended the rite in Accra’s independence square, the scene of Ghanaian presidential inaugurations since Kwame Nkrumah was sworn in over six decades ago.
“We are a people battered by economic crises and hardships. But there’s hope on the horizon,” Mahama said in a speech to cheers from thousands of boisterous supporters.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis, an ongoing bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a sovereign debt default, Ghana’s economy is again growing.
But Mahama is under pressure to deliver quickly on campaign promises to curb high youth unemployment and root out entrenched corruption – issues that have fuelled distrust in Ghana’s political system.
“The average Ghanaian is growing impatient with our democracy,” Godfred Bokpin, a finance professor at the University of Ghana, told Reuters.
“People have done their part by voting but they’re asking: what have they gotten from this democracy?”
(Reuters. Photo: Bayo Onanuga, X)