Is Mahama really the competent leader to steer Ghana in the right direction?

While the Mahama teeming supporters are gleefully clamouring for his return to the presidency, the concerned Ghanaians believe that it would be devilishly suicidal if Mahama were to go back to the Jubilee House, notwithstanding the calamitous errors in judgment that led to the business crippling dumsor amid massive economic collapse (dragged 14% economic growth in 2011 to 3.4% and 15.4% inflation in 2016) in the absence of a pernicious coronavirus and Russia/Ukraine protracted conflict.

Apparently, during his time in office, former President John Dramani Mahama was given the descriptive epithet ‘the incompetent one’ by his adversaries. His opponents would argue that although there was no known diffused global crisis during his time in office, he could not manage the economy.

Interestingly, in his short spell at the presidency, the late Mills left an auspicious economic growth of 14%, and Mahama dragged it to a meagre 3.4%; the late Mills raised agricultural growth to 7.5%, and Mahama reversed it to 3.0%; the late Mills single-digit inflation was perfunctorily raised to 15.4%; and the GDP of GH47 billion shrank to GH40 billion by Mahama in the absence of the ecumenically diffused coronavirus or the Ukraine/Russia intractable conflict.

Unsurprisingly, prior to the 2020 general elections, the reputable Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) reported that former President John Dramani Mahama was going to find it extremely difficult to convince discerning Ghanaians to accept that he is the preferable manager of Ghana’s economy.

In all this, the diehard supporters of former President Mahama would argue impetuously that even if former President Mahama was perceived as incompetent during his tenure in office, there is no Messiah with the ‘Midas touch’ to turn around the fortunes of the country other than him.

The crucial question we should be asking the brass-bound supporters of former President Mahama is: if the former president indeed lived up to expectations, why did over one million voters vote him out in 2016 and be rejected massively again in 2020?

The truth, however, is that former President Mahama did not pull his weight but only managed to undo all the excellent performances put in by his predecessors.

My dear reader, isn’t it quite strange to keep hearing and reading the NDC brassbound supporters flimsy excuses that the loyalists of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) maliciously lied about the NDC's incompetence and corrupt practices and deceptively pledged juicy, albeit unachievable, manifesto promises that led to their 2016 and 2020 landslide victories?

The fact of the matter is that Mahama’s dreadful errors in judgment, which unfortunately sent Ghana’s economy deeper and deeper into the mire to some large extent, cost them the 2016 and 2020 elections, not the supposedly ‘wicked’ lies put out by their opponents.

Why should the supporters of Mahama blithesomely sing his praises when he egregiously gave away 58% of Ghana’s bauxite to his sibling, to the utter disgust of discerning Ghanaians?

How could former President Mahama fecklessly give apologists like Madam Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) two four-wheel-drive cars and a luxury bungalow (estimated to cost a staggering $470,000) for no work done and turn around and blame his adversaries for the humiliating defeat?

Why must the diehard supporters of former President Mahama blame anyone for his
humiliating defeat when he wilfully dragged an economic growth of 14% in 2011 to a miserable 3.4% in the absence of the pernicious coronavirus and the Russia/Ukraine impasse?

Mahama’s adversaries could not have caused his defeat when he abysmally raised Ghana’s total debt from GH9.5 billion in 2009 to a staggering GH122.4 billion by December 2016 in the absence of insidious coronavirus and Russia/Ukraine intractable conflict.

Mahama cannot blame his opponents for his defeat when he dreadfully reduced the GDP from GH47 billion in 2011 to GH40 billion by December 2016.

How can Mahama blame his contenders when the agricultural sector grew consistently in the negative?

His competitors could not have masterminded his defeat when the industry sector grew appallingly.

How can Mahama blame his opponents for his defeat when he egregiously ‘consumed all the meat on the bone?’

In all this, former President Mahama and his praise-singing bandwagon are refusing to acknowledge the painful fact that his calamitous errors in judgment amid rampant corruption, untold economic hardships, and business crippling dumsor largely contributed to his 2016 humiliating election defeat.

In Mahama’s time in office, Ghana’s economic growth regrettably slowed for the
fourth consecutive year to an estimated 3.4% in 2015 from 4% in 2014 as energy
rationing (dumsor), high inflation, and ongoing fiscal consolidation weighed on
economic activity (World Bank, 2016).

Besides, the high inflation rate remained elevated at 18.5% in February 2016 compared to 17.7% in February 2015, even after the Central Bank’s 500 bps policy rate hikes (the inflation stood at 15.4% as of October 2016).

Despite the absence of an ecumenically diffused coronavirus and the intractable Ukraine-Russia conflict, President Mahama did not work his socks off to improve the socio-economic living standards of Ghanaians.

Regrettably, former President Mahama made Ghanaians sleep in darkness for well over four years, crippling businesses and industries.

In the dark days of Dumsor under the Mahama administration, we witnessed the plangent buzzing of generators all over the country. Most businesses folded up amid massive unemployment.

In those days, self-employed people like hairdressers, Ice Kenkey Sellers, and butchers, among others, were the worst affected.

The revoltingly annoying and costly buzzing of generators across the length and breadth of the country, unfortunately, went on for well over five years to the utter dismay of the good people of Ghana.

Considering the negative effects of dumsor, it would only take a disputatious character to suggest that discerning Ghanaians have soon forgotten and forgiven Mahama for wilfully collapsing their businesses through dumsor.

The fact of the matter is that ex-President Mahama and his praise-singing bandwagon believe that Ghanaians still suffer from chronic memory loss and can keep taking everyone else for granted.