NPP MISSING AS MAHAMA TAKES OVER

President John Dramani Mahama swears an oath administered by Chief Justice Georgina Wood at the Independence Square in Accra

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday January 8, 2013

John Dramani Mahama was sworn in as the 4th President of the 4th Republic at a colourful ceremony yesterday at the Independence Square Accra, following his victory in the December 7 and 8 general elections last year.

His Vice, Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, a former Governor of the Bank of Ghana also underwent a similar initiation as the 5^th Vice President of the Republic.

Conspicuously missing at the ceremony were members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) who are contesting the election results at the Supreme Court.

The opposition has filed a petition at the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the results announced by Electoral Commission (EC) Chairman Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan and insists that their candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo should have been declared the winner instead.

The opposition were however present at the last sitting of parliament that closed the 5^th Parliament of the 4^th Republic and ushered in the 6^th deep in the night of January 6.

As usual, the Ghanaian pomp and pageantry that characterized such occasions was not lost.

People from all over Ghana as well as 13 Presidents and Prime Ministers from other African countries, came down to the Independence Square to witness the occasion.

Africa Union Chairman Thomas Yayi Boni of Benin, Jacob Zuma of South Africa, Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, Alhassane Quattara of La Cote d’Ivoire, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson of Liberia,  Macky Sall of Senegal, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Blaise Campaore of Burkina Faso, Faure Gnassingbe of Togo among others were there.

Former President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, former President John Agyekum Kufuor whose participation at the ceremony sparked heated debate particularly among NPP sympathizers, as well as former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and his wife Nanny, were there to offer their support.

The moment the President was sworn in by Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, many National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters around heaped huge sigh of relief before bursting into a spontaneous jubilation.

It took the President about five minutes to complete formal swearing-in.  

Earlier, his vice Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur had taken both the oath of office and oath of secrecy as well.

After swearing the oaths, Mr. Mahama handed the sword which is the symbol of authority to himself simply because he was the same person who acted when President John Evans Atta-Mills passed on in July.

He then mounted the podium to deliver his speech which took about 22 minutes. 

He promised not to let Ghanaians down and appealed to the public to maintain the faith and trust placed in him as President.

“I will work hard to place us on the right path and I will lead us over the hurdles and pass the obstacles that might threaten to keep us from meeting our goals.

He said “It has been said that what is past is prologue, a mere introduction of all that is yet to come. If this is the case, then Ghana is in store for a wealth of achievement.  Ghana’s past is filled with one example after the other of courage, sacrifice and perseverance. Ghana’s past is defined by heroic men and women—pioneers, visionaries, patriots.”

President Mahama said “we have inherited a powerful legacy, beneficiaries of a mighty history… We all, each and every one of us, have a role to play in the growth and development of our beloved mother Ghana. In our hands—yours as well as mine—rests the success or failure of Ghana’s future.”

He said that complacency and frustration “can entice us into believing that we are insignificant players stuck somehow in the background of a bigger picture, or that we are incapable of making a difference.”

There is no denying the fact that in the past 55 years Ghana has made tremendous gains, but there is also no denying the fact that Ghana is still a young country and every young country goes through its share of instability and difficulty as it struggles to find the direction toward permanence.

The President noted that over the course of the last four years, a tremendous amount of work had been done but admitted that “Nevertheless, there is a tremendous amount of work that still needs to be done.”

“More jobs must be created. More roads, bridges, schools and hospitals must be built. The infrastructure that we already have must be expanded, strengthened, and made better able to withstand the increased usage,” he said.

President Mahama said “We need to look beyond temporary fixes to find lasting solutions for the complications we’ve experienced with power, water and sanitation.”

He called for continuous investment in the agricultural sector and economic growth so that “it lifts the bulk of our most crippling financial burdens, especially among the poorest of the population.”

He said the country’s human resource base needs to improve and adds that “This is why it is imperative that our citizens have access to good healthcare.”

He said Ghana is on the path of “enormous transformation” and added “We are moving forward at a rapid pace.”

He said that “new resources are at our disposal; new alliances are being formed. The opportunities posed by these gains could result in a self-sufficiency that was always imagined and desired, but was never a realistic occurrence in the foreseeable future, not in the way it is right now.”

“I believe this because I have seen the work and accomplishments of my predecessors, President Jerry John Rawlings, President John Agyekum Kufuor and, of course, the late President John Evans Atta Mills.

We were all witness to the way they were able to take what others said was impossible and to not only turn into something that was probable, but to realise their vision and get it done.

“I will work to ensure that our society is less polarized and weighted down by the pressures of political differences. I will work to ensure that Ghana is a place where all citizens, regardless of their religious faith, ethnicity or political affiliation, will have the opportunities available to them to reach their full potential.” he assured.