Dr Mahama pledges responsible leadership
A responsible leadership that will bear the consequence of any pitfalls in governance is Dr Edward Nasigre Mahama's pledge to Ghanaians.
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The flag bearer of the People’s National Convention (PNC) gave the pledge when he took his turn at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEAs) maiden evening interaction with presidential candidates with representation in Parliament.
Delivery
The flag bearer, who was succinct in his delivery, innovatively used the campaign slogan of the PNC to outline the policy options of the party if they were voted into office.
"A new beginning, a new deal, a new force," is the 2016 campaign slogan and the flag bearer outlined how the PNC would endeavour to achieve that.
For a new beginning, Dr Mahama highlighted a PNC-reformed public service as the kingpin in ensuring an efficient public service with the appropriate interface with the private sector.
New deal
In relation to the new deal being proposed, the PNC flag bearer emphasised economic transformation through an agricultural revolution to ensure that the country became a food-exporting country once again.
New force
Harnessing the passion and exuberance of the youth, that is 18 to 35-year-olds, was Dr Mahama's proposition for a new force.
He described the youth as the country's asset who would be constituted into the socio-economic force for change.
Agriculture/ health
Giving details of the policy, the flag bearer spoke about a systematic and coordinated climate smart approach including irrigation, the building of new dams, agricultural modernisation, appropriate value chain linkages and a host of other key initiatives to transform the sector.
For health, Dr Mahama promised to restructure the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and set up an independent monitoring agency to police the system.
Education
His pledges for the educational system included making the sector more functional and relevant to the world of work.
"Driven by science and technology, innovation culture would be critical," he stated.
He promised to expand access to education and go by the constitutional prescription of a free compulsory basic education up to the SHS level.
Employment
He said he would establish a national labour office to collate data on employment and publish information on employment regularly for job seekers.
Concerning corruption, Dr Mahama said a PNC-led government would review the Public Procurement Act and ensure that appointments to the agency were based on competence and not cronyism.
He promised to decouple the Attorney-General's office from the Ministry of Justice, and charge the Attorney-General to prosecute public officials who misconducted themselves.
He reminded Ghanaians that when Dr Hilla Limann, the forebear of the PNC, was toppled as President by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), neither he nor any of his ministers were found to have corrupted themselves.
However, when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) ended its tenure, some of the officials were found to have corrupted themselves or were found to have caused financial loss to the state.
Energy, oil, gas
Dr Mahama also detailed some policy initiatives in relation to the energy sector.
For instance, he promised to ensure that all public officers in the sector declared their assets.
He spoke about making the Tema Oil Refinery vibrant and more responsive to the needs of the country.
He added that he would channel revenue from the oil and gas sector into the agriculture to make it more attractive to the youth.