Mixed reactions greet President’s address
The President’s State of the Nation address to Parliament has been greeted with mixed reactions.
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While some people the Daily Graphic spoke to lauded President John Dramani Mahama for presenting a true state of the nation, others were of the view that the achievements touted by the President were yet to reflect in their lives.
There were also others who were indifferent, while some said the President’s address was an exaggeration since some of the projects he alluded to had either not started or had stalled or were progressing at a slow pace.
Some public opinions
Mr Richard Asante, a banker, said even though the President enumerated his achievements, it was his beneficiaries, including himself, who could do a better job in terms of telling the true state of the nation.
According to him, as a resident of Adentan who had not benefited from water supply for the past 15 years, he was a beneficiary of water supply currently as a result of the extension of water to the area.
“As beneficiaries, we can go on and on about how the President’s achievements are indeed changing lives and transforming Ghana; there is no politics about this,” he added.
Ms Felicia Mingle, a lecturer, said the President had, indeed, presented the true state of the country and added that the achievements were an indication that given a second term, the current administration would improve the living conditions of the citizens.
A teacher, Mr Samuel Mensah, said the President’s address had painted the true picture of the economy, but was quick to add that those achievements had done little to improve the living conditions of the citizens.
“Despite all that Mr Mahama has said, we are still suffering — utility tariffs are too high, unbearable taxes, high and rising fuel prices by the day make the said achievements by the government insignificant,” he added.
A polytechnic tutor, Mr Edward Tei, said the State of the Nation Address was a perfect picture of Ghana and indicated that the Mahama-led administration was on the right development track and, therefore, deserved a second term to finish the good work started.
Ms Rita Baiden, an accountant, said the President had indeed given a true reflection of what the state looked like in terms of development and commended him for that.
Disappointed members of the public
Yaw Boadu Ntiful, a policy analyst with a non-governmental organisation, said he was disappointed at the achievements outlined by the President after all those years in government because the achievements, if they truly existed, were only theoretical, with no impact on the living conditions of Ghanaians.
Evelyn Adu, a passer-by, said in her opinion, the State of the Nation Address was like “a morning of a thousand laughs”, because the President had attached no seriousness to the national exercise.
According to her, the President knew very well that the State of the Nation in reality was nothing to write home about, so he resorted to making fun of his “so-called achievements by displaying what he called beneficiaries of his policies and achievements,” to sway attention from his incompetence over the years.
Mr Ernest Asare, a banker, said whatever the President said was his opinion and he was entitled to it, but for him, if it was Ghana’s State of the Nation Address that was delivered by President Mahama, then he begged to differ.
A hawker, Mary Ansong, said even though she did not have the opportunity to watch or listen to it, she was briefed by some friends when she overheard them discussing the issue.
“Before they said anything to me, they made fun of me, saying the President said he was changing the lives of Ghanaians one after the other; and then asked me when it would be the turn of a common soft drink vendor like me, considering the current population of more than 25 million people,” she said, looking downhearted.
The first 10 people, including William Say, a driver, and Millicent Koney, a shopper, that the Daily Graphic spoke to at the Kaneshie Market, said even though they listened to radio, due to the language barrier they could not understand anything that was said.
They, therefore, appealed to stakeholders to subsequently arrange for translations in the local language for those who did not understand English language.
Background
President John Dramani Mahama presented his fourth State of the Nation Address to Parliament last Thursday.
The address, the longest ever, lasted for about three-and-a-half hours.
Representatives of political parties, the judiciary, members of the diplomatic corps, some chiefs and other invited guests filled the public gallery to listen to the President.
An innovation in the address was the introduction of pictorial evidence to back claims of the various development projects undertaken across the country in the three years of his administration.
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