Director of Communications for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has criticized President Mahama for failing to deliver on his promised 120-day social contract, saying he is far from meeting the targets set out.
Speaking on The Pulse on JoyNews, Mr Ahiagbah said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had made lofty promises ahead of the elections, but with just under 20 days left in the 120-day timeline, very little had been achieved.
“He is not on track at all. From what he said he would do in 120 days, and what he has done so far, it is minimal compared to what is outstanding. So he is off track, gravely off track,” he said.
According to Mr Ahiagbah, the NDC over-promised and is now struggling to meet expectations. “They bit more than they could chew, and right now, they are just going to be playing with us with words and excuses until the four years are done.”
He added that the failure to meet the full 120-day commitment signals a broken promise.
“Clearly, what they committed themselves to with 19 or so days remaining, they cannot deliver. So it is a failed promise, as I can put it. He’s failed Ghanaians in the quest to achieve these things in 120 days.”
Mr Ahiagbah was particularly critical of the NDC’s much-publicised 24-hour economy policy, questioning its implementation.
“They were chanting 1-3-3 – one job, three people, and three shifts all over. Where is that? It is nowhere. There is no provision in the budget that shows they are going to implement it, so he cannot be on track.”
He also said the President’s achievements, such as the appointment of ministers within 14 days, were “low-hanging fruit.”
“The real things where he must show leadership are still outstanding. What happened to the banning of galamsey in forest reserves? He promised to repeal the LI, he hasn’t. Instead, he’s taken a minimalist approach by amending it,” he said.
Mr Ahiagbah further criticised the recent launch of the ‘One Million Coders’ programme, calling it a last-minute effort to appear active.
“And just yesterday [Wednesday], they hurriedly commissioned the 1 million coders programme. In terms of fulfilling the contract, he has not. What would have been substantial for Ghanaians is to see all of these things done, because the commitment was to get all of it done. At this point, he hasn’t even done 50% of them.”
