Ghanaian President John Kufuor has been in office for one year, with three remaining.

The president and his NPP government promised the Ghanaian people "positive change" when they took over from former president Jerry Rawlings.

Have they delivered, or are they at least headed in the right direction?

Certainly some things have changed, most noticably the style of leadership.

The presidency has swung from the flamboyant Mr Rawlings' gung-ho model to Mr Kufuor's more mild-mannered approach.

Big picture

The incumbent president is known to focus on the big picture, and tries to stay above partisan bickering, although has has shown he can clench his fists.

His youth and sports minister, Mallam Yusuf Isa, who was jailed over a missing $46,000, is a living witness to President Kufuor's pledge for "zero tolerance" for corruption.

But Mr Kufuor has come under substantial fire for his frequent overseas travels.

His officials argue that it is essential for a new president to announce himself to the world and present his vision and the country's new face to world leaders eyeball-to-eyeball.

He has met US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, for example.

And he has mended some shaky fences with neighbours in West Africa.

But the critics are not impressed, saying his meetings with some of those leaders are as meaningful as a regular morning salutation from a neighbour.

Hardship remains

As far as the economy is concerned, inflation and interest rates are down, and the national currency, the cedi, has been more stable over the past year than it has been for a long time.

But with utility and fuel prices up, life is still very tough for ordinary Ghanaians.

If what the president said would be a "golden age" of business is indeed taking shape, then it is doing so too slowly to be obvious.

Still, many Ghanaians will be thankful to have a country that is at peace even if they are not too certain about where their next meal is coming from.