120 Days In Office: I’ll Score Mahama’s Performance 64% – Prof. Smart Sarpong Says
Prof. Smart Sarpong, a Senior Reseacher at the Kumasi Technical University, has given President John Dramani Mahama a score below 60 percent in relation to his performance during his 120 days.
Wednesday, May 7, 2025, marked the 120 days since John Dramani Mahama was sworn in as President of Ghana for a new four-year term.
With his vision to reset Ghana by “building the Ghana we want together”, the President in a live telecast on Wednesday listed his achievements within 120 days.
President John Mahama promised a lean government saying “I promised to nominate the complete list of Cabinet Ministers for parliamentary approval within the first 14 days and to constitute the leanest and most efficient government under the Fourth Republic within the first 90 days.
“As promised, I announced the complete list of my cabinet ministers for parliamentary approval
within the first fourteen days of being sworn in. They were all successfully vetted and approved
and have hit the ground running. Indeed, I have appointed only 56 ministers and deputies so
far–the smallest number of ministers and deputies appointed by any government in the Fourth
Republic.”
He added; “We promised to hold a National Economic Dialogue within the first 90 days to understand the true state of our economy and build consensus on the way forward. On March 3rd and 4th, 2025, the Government of Ghana convened the National Economic Dialogue at the Accra International Conference Centre, bringing together partners, including the private sector, civil society organisations, traditional authorities, and academia. The participants presented a comprehensive report with clear recommendations to restore macroeconomic stability and regain confidence.”
President Mahama further stressed he has removed some “draconian taxes” to ease the living conditions of Ghanaians.
“To alleviate hardships and ease the high cost of doing business, I promised to scrap the E-levy,
COVID levy, 10% levy on bet winnings, and the Emissions levy within my first 90 days. These tax
and expenditure measures were central to our 2025 Budget Statement. On April 2, 2025, I signed several bills into law, including the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-LEVY) Repeal Bill 2025, the Emissions Levy Repeal Bill, and the Betting Tax.”
He continued with other achievements, mentioning reviewing taxes on industrial and agricultural imports, 24-hour economy policy and implementing his free tuition fees for fist-year tertiary students.
“The ‘ No-Academic-Fee ‘ policy for all first-year students in public tertiary institutions was a key
promise to ease the burden on families and expand access to higher education. My government has taken concrete steps to implement this. Four hundred and figy-two million, nine hundred and forty thousand and twelve Ghana Cedis (GH¢ 452,940,012.00) has been allocated for the payment of academic facility user fees for one hundred and figy-six thousand, two hundred and ninety-four (156,294) first-year students in public tertiary institutions for the 2025 academic year.”
Discussing the 120 days of the President on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” show, Prof. Smart Sarpong noted that although the President has achieved some promises, there are however some things he has failed to do which, to him, he should have also captured them in his speech.
He made mention of the Obuasi shooting incident between some illegal miners and the Military resulting in the death of some miners and a recent tragic shooting incident that occurred in Nyinahin on Thursday, April 24, 2025, leading to the death of one person and injuries to three others among other issues.
“These are all part of the killings although they are not election-related killings…Just as he talked about the old things he has done, he should have equally touched on the new events that characterized his administration”, he remarked.
He also touched on the President’s promise to carry out a shake-up of all loss-making State-owned enterprises to enhance their profitability and value.
“In fact, I haven’t seen a shake-up in any of the State-owned enterprises…So, in this regard, I will score him zero”, he responded.
Prof. Smart Sarpong concluded that when he puts everything the President has done together, “the raw score for me is 64 percent”.
Source: Ghmessenger.com
