There’s no denying that the current government, under President John Mahama and the NDC, has inherited a nation battered by eight years of unrestrained corruption, economic sabotage, and institutional rot. In that context, even the early signs of recovery are worth commending. The stabilisation of the cedi — holding relatively firm against major trading currencies — is no small feat. It reflects the beginnings of fiscal discipline and a sign that the ship, though wounded, is slowly regaining its balance.
But Ghanaians are no longer the passive, forgiving electorate of old. The citizen today is far more vigilant, politically alert, and unwilling to give praise without performance. The vote they cast for Mahama was a conscious, calculated rescue mission — a plea for redemption from the wreckage left by the NPP. It was not a blank cheque. It was a short-term contract, signed in desperation, and now being audited in real-time with eyes wide open.
And that is where the urgency lies.
While the groundwork for recovery is taking shape, there’s an unmistakable public anxiety about justice — or the apparent lack of it. The last regime did not merely fail; it looted. It borrowed recklessly, inflated contracts shamelessly, and watched as state institutions bled dry. And yet, the people who did this still walk free, flaunt their wealth, and now pose as moral voices in opposition.
Ghanaians were promised accountability. They were told that the era of impunity would end. But for all the Attorney General’s pressers and exposés, actual prosecutions have been sluggish. The country is watching closely, because without swift, credible justice — with real jail time, confiscated assets, and recovered funds — the “rescue” narrative will collapse under its own contradictions.
This is not about vengeance. It’s about national healing. A nation cannot move forward when the wounds of the past are still infected. Every delayed trial, every stalled investigation, chips away at public trust. We cannot afford to normalise silence after scandal. Ghanaians are tired of watching the corrupt grow rich while the honest grow poorer.
That same urgency applies to the fight against illegal mining — galamsey — which continues to ravage our environment. Yes, new measures have been introduced. Yes, there are efforts to regulate and formalise small-scale mining. But unless there is total political will to confront the well-connected cartels at the top of the chain, the laws will be as meaningless as those that came before them. The people are no longer impressed by press releases or public burnings. They want results — rivers that run clean, forests that grow back, and communities that feel safe.
On the economic front, stabilisation is a beginning, not an end. Inflation must be tamed further, youth unemployment addressed aggressively, and cost of living eased. The government must move from triage to transformation — building not just stability, but prosperity.
The 120-Day Social Contract, an ambitious checklist of deliverables, must also be seen beyond paper. It must hit the ground — in schools, hospitals, markets, and homes. Ghanaians need to see the promises materialise. Anything less, and the contract risks being dismissed as political choreography.
But let’s be clear — this is not a condemnation. It is a citizen’s alert. This is not cynicism. It is patriotic expectation. The government still has a reservoir of goodwill. But goodwill has a shelf life, and the people are watching that expiry date.
If Mahama’s second coming is to be remembered as a genuine rescue and reset, then decisive, uncompromising action must follow these early efforts. The looters must face the law, and the law must work — swiftly, impartially, and without fear or favour. The reforms must deepen. The economy must grow beyond numbers and reflect in the lives of ordinary Ghanaians. And illegal mining must be crushed, not managed.
Ghanaians have become the real opposition now — alert, informed, and unwilling to be taken for granted again. The president and his team must see that as a blessing, not a threat. For it is this awakened citizenry that will either guard the rescue mission to success — or vote it into the archives of lost hope.
The mission is still alive. But it needs fuel — and that fuel is trust, built only through action.
Time is ticking. The people are watching. And this time, they will not be silent.
