Mahama is the president for the future

Every leader worth their salt must possess certain superlative leadership traits and must be able to cultivate a culture of change. Key among these traits are truthfulness and forthrightness.

Ghana is fortunate to have H.E. John Dramani Mahama. He has consistently been truthful to the people of Ghana. For instance, during the height of the dumsor crisis, unlike others, he accepted responsibility for the situation and promised to fix it, which he did before leaving office.

In line with his style and forthrightness, the late former President J.J. Rawlings recently stated in a viral video:

"John Mahama is a president for the future. His nature and style could earn him the position of a president in advanced countries such as Switzerland, etc. It is unfortunate that rather than celebrate him and discuss his forthrightness and sense of discipline, some people are steeped in petty political-mindedness and cannot bring themselves to see or recognize a role model and a gem of a man."

President Mahama's promise to change lives and transform Ghana was on course before leaving office. He built a Teaching Hospital at Legon, expanded Tamale Teaching Hospital by 400 more beds, and constructed a brand new 500-bed Military Hospital in Kumasi.

Furthermore, he constructed 6 regional hospitals, at least 14 district hospitals, over 26 polyclinics, and more than 18 health centers, just to mention a few.

In the area of education, more than 1,000 different projects were executed in the second cycle level, excluding the 200-day SHS project, 73 of which were at various levels of completion before he exited office. Additionally, countless numbers of classroom blocks were constructed to eliminate schools under trees and abolish the shift system.

During his presidency, US$1.1 billion was spent on the construction of new water systems and the expansion of some existing ones across the country. 76% of the entire country, both rural and urban areas, had access to good drinking water, which was the second highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Moreover, extensive major road projects were undertaken in all the then 10 regions of the country. These include the 3-tier ultra-modern Kwame Nkrumah interchange, the eastern corridor roads, Fufulso-Sawla road, etc.

It will also interest my cherished readers to know that during one of President Mahama's visits to France, the French government provided, through the French Development Agency (AfD), a 37.50 million Euro financing for the second phase of the Kumasi Roads and Drainage Extension Project, which involved the construction of the Lake Road/Oforikrom bypass and the Aboabo drainage works.

Other projects of H.E. John Dramani Mahama include but are not limited to the construction of an 800-kilometer fiber optic ICT backbone infrastructure in the eastern corridor to provide broadband services to over 120 communities along the route from Ho to Bawku, with links to Tamale from Yendi, expansion of Tema Port, expansion of Takoradi Port, expansion of Tamale and Kumasi Airports, Atuabo Gas plant, and exploration of major oil blocks, namely: Ten, Gye Nyame, and the Volta Basin.

With these achievements, it came as no surprise when he was honored by the Diasporan Association For Good Governance (DAGG) for being the best President Ghana has ever had since the days of Kwame Nkrumah, at their 10th annual gathering where they honored world leaders who have helped or are involved in making Africa a model continent.

H.E. John Jerry Rawlings was right in saying that Mahama is a gem of a leader. And I don't know what you see, but I see miracles, signs, and wonders in the atmosphere, and God is going to move on behalf of JDM on December 7.