A presidential candidate with personal integrity will get my vote. He must be honest and transparent in all his dealings with Ghanaians. He must walk the talk. Whatever he does must be in alignment with what he says. He must be true to himself. He must take responsibility for his successes and failures. He must not have a story of corruption and embezzlement. He must have a proven track record of excellent performance both in his public and private life.

I would vote for a candidate who will introduce economic reforms towards job creation for the teeming unemployed in the country. Our economic environment should be investment-friendly. When investors come and set up manufacturing companies, jobs will be created for those who meet the recruitment requirements. Local entrepreneurs should be given tax relief and other incentives to enable them to set up new manufacturing firms or expand existing ones to create jobs for the unemployed.

A presidential candidate who has a policy to revamp the agricultural sector and make it attractive for the youth will get my vote. There must be a good price for what our farmers produce. He must ensure that measures are put in place to address the perennial problem of post-harvest food losses. He should ensure that research findings to improve productivity in the agriculture sector are implemented in the letter.

I would vote for a presidential candidate who would introduce reforms in the educational sector. Currently, our universities and other tertiary institutions are churning out graduates who depend only on the government to give them employment.

The reforms should make it possible for our graduates to create their own jobs. A course on success and failure should be introduced at the universe level. After all, we go to school to learn and acquire skills and knowledge that will help us become successful in our professional and career lives. Yet there is no course or subject called success that is taught in our schools. A presidential candidate who has strategies to tackle the security challenges of the country will get my vote. Armed robberies on our highways are commonplace.

We have protracted chieftaincy disputes that are claiming innocent lives in various parts of the country. Road crashes are claiming innocent lives on a daily basis. These are issues that should engage the attention of a serious president. A presidential candidate who has a blueprint to ensure the safety and protection of Ghanaians will get my vote.

The security agencies must be adequately equipped with the necessary logistics to discharge their constitutional mandate. They should be adequately remunerated and given welfare packages to incentivize them to do their work. A presidential candidate who has a comprehensive programme for environmental conservation will receive my vote. Our forests, lands, air, and water bodies are being degraded with careless abandon by individuals and corporate bodies. We need to protect the natural environment for current and future generations. We need a healthy ecosystem that we can exploit on a sustainable basis.

A presidential candidate who will ensure the setting up of mobile health clinics to reach various deprived communities to provide medical care to the sick, especially the aged, will get my vote. The elderly, who have no means of livelihood, should be identified and given a monthly maintenance allowance.

A president who will have the willpower to protect the national purse will undoubtedly get my vote. Too many ministers, deputy ministers, and presidential staffers are a drain on the national kitty. Why can’t a chief director, for instance, play the role of a deputy minister? Also to vote for will be a presidential candidate who will pledge to appoint experts outside his party to some political offices deemed appropriate.

He should not, on account of party affiliation, appoint charlatans to mess up our lives. A presidential candidate who has a good family will be considered and voted for. If you cannot manage your own family, how can you manage a nation? I would vote for a presidential candidate who would listen to Ghanaians and take into consideration their views before assenting to any bills that become law. He should not behave like a tyrant in the exercise of the power he wields.

We need to remind those vying for that office that the voice of the people is the voice of God. If Ghanaians kick against any issue because it’s deemed inimical to their interests, don’t force it down their throat. Posterity will not forgive such a person. Any presidential candidate who will not take us to the Bretton Woods institutions will automatically get my vote. They give loans, alright, but their conditionalities also cause hardship and needless suffering for the citizenry.

We can make steady progress by relying on our own resources. We can develop our a country without loans and so-called aid. The threat posed by terrorism is real. About half of Burkina Faso is under the control of Islamic militants. Terror attacks have killed millions and displaced thousands in Burkina Faso. Togo has not been spared terror attacks. A presidential candidate who will have a foreign policy to forge economic and military cooperation with our neighbours and other African countries to expand trade and prevent terrorists from infiltrating our country will get my vote. Ghana is a sovereign state, and any dealings with either the East or West must not be a sell-out. I will vote for a presidential candidate who upholds these principles will I vote for.

I hope the presidential hopefuls are listening.

Long live our democracy. Long live Ghana.