Twenty-Twenty five in retrospect (1)

By Amos SAFO

Last year was a very eventful year, full of good and bad news or successes and failures. The year was significant given the successful transition from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

This followed overwhelming victory candidate John Dramani Mahama on December 7, 2014. The 2024 elections will go down in history as the biggest ever margin of victory since the commencement of the Fourth Republic. Not only did John Dramani Mahama win convincingly with 56.55% of the vote, but the NDC won more than 188 seats in Parliament to give it a massive two-third majority in Parliament.

Although it was believed President Mahama could win the election, the margin of victory was a surprise to many people. Many people argued that it would be difficult for a candidate who had been rejected in similar fashion in 2016 to be returned to power. Many people foresaw some spiritual ramifications against Ghana in the event of John Mahama retuning to power. So, his overwhelming endorsement came as a shock to many forecasters.

Ghana and USA elections

In a way the outcomes of Ghana’s elections often have some correlations with the United States elections. In that regard, when candidate Donald Trump, who lost the previous elections made a heroic return to the White House, the myth that a defeated or rejected candidate could not win an election in Ghana was neutralized. Thus, the Trump victory was one of the major factors that swayed voters in favour of John Mahama.  The monumental victory established President John Mahama as one of the most astute politicians in Africa. The victory aside, John Mahama’s obsession with openly insulting his competitors and inciting political violence does not reflect exemplary leadership for the youth and aspiring politicians to emulate.

Victory and violence

It came as a surprise that rather than celebrating the massive victory of candidate Mahama NDC supporters resorted to violence, looting private shops and warehouses and burning public property. Perhaps, that was the first time since independence when supporters of a political party became violent after their party had won the poll overwhelmingly. Their conduct defied rational thinking.

Many security analysts suggested that the NDC supporters might have been brainwashed to use anarchy as a weapon in case their party lost the election. So, when their party had an astonishing victory, it was difficult for their leaders to call them to order. In fact, the violence must have been influenced by the vitriolic and inflammatory and divisive language NDC leaders used on campaign platforms.

The Bawumia factor

It will be incomplete to write about the peaceful transition of power without mentioning Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia. Shortly after the polls, Dr. Bawumia conceded defeat and congratulated the elected candidate, John Dramani Mahama in a bid to douse the rising political tension. On the contrary, it is on record that in his two defeats in 2016 and 2020, John Mahama never conceded defeat and never congratulated the winning candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. In both cases, he failed to play by the democratic rules, and his silence constituted a fertile ground for chaos.

The Ofori-Atta factor

The key factor that undermined Dr. Bawumia and NPP was the Ken Ofori-Atta factor. He was a finance minister who won the hearts of many Ghanaians during the first term of Akufo-Addo. He successfully renegotiated several energy debts that the previous government contracted, and which were suffocating the economy. Furthermore, he reduced the debt to GDP ratio, reduced inflation and other macroeconomic fundamentals. However, in his second term Mr. Ofori-Atta appeared to have taken several financial decisions outside the domain of the Economic Management Team led by the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia. It was rumoured that on several occasions the Vice President had to join a long queue at the Ministry of Finance to see the minister of finance. That was how powerful Mr. Ofori-Atta had become prior to NPP being ousted by the electorate.

Among several unilateral decisions he made, the debt management policy in 2022 was a potent weapon that caused the defeat of the NPP and Dr. Bawumia. As Ghana went through the throes of economic hardship, it was obvious that some harsh decisions had to be taken. Initially, the finance minister assured Ghanaians that the government would not seek financial bailout from the IMF. According to him, Ghana had enough homegrown solutions to overcome the economic meltdown caused by Covid 19 and the Russia-Ukraine war. Unfortunately, within two weeks of his assurances, Mr. Ofori-Atta had gone cup-in-hand to beg for IMF support. Many Ghanaians questioned the vision of the government. Some analysts suggested that Dr. Bawumia was against seeking IMF support, but his objection was  ignored by both President Akufo-Addo and Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta. He thus, became a lone voice in a government in which was the Vice President and the head of the Economic Management Team.

Consequences

The consequence of an IMF bailout was the pressure on the government to renegotiate its local debts, and to delay the payment of coupons on existing government bonds. In the process many people, both young and old, lost the value of their investments.  This sparked a series of protest and vigils at the Ministry of Finance, amid demands for the president to sack the finance minister.

Prior to the return to IMF, 38 Members of Parliament had appealed to President Akufo-Addo to sack the finance minister. Quite expectedly, President Akufo-Addo turned a deaf ear to public demands to call Ofori-Atta to order. When President Akufo-Addo belatedly removed the finance minister, he reassigned him as a senior advisor on international transactions, perhaps, a more senior position to the finance minister.  It was at juncture that many voters decided to dethrone the NPP with their thumbs.

At that point free SHS, agenda-111, road infrastructure and other massive social interventions did not matter. It was bread and butter that mattered, not even the District Road Improvement Project (DRIP) could persuade people to change their minds. Thus, NPP and Dr. Bawumia’s determination to break the eight crumbled on the altar of debt management and the IMF bailout and deadly comments made by some losing candidates.

Candidate John Mahama and his campaign team were very strategic in tailoring their message to the bread-and-butter concerns. They promised heaven, including reducing the price of kenkey and fish. NDC was so strategic in branding Dr. Bawumia as a “liar” because as leader of the economic management team he had failed to address the economic fundamentals as he promised while in opposition.

Dr. Bawumia’s campaign team disclosed that from six months until the election; they knew that their candidate would lose. Despite the odds, Dr. Bawumia relentlessly toured the length and breadth of the country to galvanise support against the groundswell of anger and voter apathy among his party supporters. While NPP is unable to manage internal conflicts among its supporters, NDC has an effective conflict management system to ensure that its supporters will remain resolute for victory. While aggrieved NPP supporters and leaders often engage in suicidal dog-fights, NDC supporters and leaders prefer power, rather than washing their dirty clothes in public.

Nolle prosequis

I stand to be corrected, but I think this is first time any Attorney General under the Fourth Republic has entered more nolle prosequis.  Nolle prosequi is a Latin legal term meaning “to be unwilling to prosecute.” It is a formal declaration by a prosecutor to abandon a criminal or civil case before a verdict. In 2025, the Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Akurutinga Ayine, entered a nolle prosequi in at least 10 or more high-profile cases, to make it the highest since the commencement of the Fourth Republic.

The most prominent case was the Republic versus Kwabena Duffour and seven others, which was discontinued on July 22, 2025. The Attorney General cited the recovery of over 60% of the alleged state losses through negotiations as the primary reason for this decision. He stated that continuing the prosecution would not serve an additional public purpose. Interestingly or curiously, all individuals involved in the criminal cases were former government appointees of the previous John Mahaam administration.

Other notable cases where a nolle prosequi was entered in 2025 include:

• The Saglemi Housing case, involving former Minister for Works and Housing Alhaji Collins Dauda and four others (discontinued in February 2025).
• The case against former Minister of Finance Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson in the empty ambulances imported.
• The case against former COCOBOD CEO Dr. Stephen Opuni.
• The case against former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana Dr. Johnson Asiama. Interestingly, Dr. Asiama is now the substantive Governor of the Bank of Ghana.

While the Attorney General entered nolle prosequi in the ten high profile cases he is also in court prosecuting members of the Akufo-Addo administration for similar corruption cases. The impression being created is that members of a ruling government cannot be tried for alleged corruption, while members of the opposition are the best candidates for corruption trials.  I wonder how this government can genuinely fight corruption and abuse of power when it sees corruption only in the eyes of the opposition.

While ordinary people are being tried for less serious offences, politicians are being left off the hook for alleged gargantuan corruption against the state. Many ordinary people are languishing in jail for stealing goats and plantain. Perhaps, our judicial system is only designed to protect politicians and the affluent in society. This is unfair to the taxpayer, whose sweat is being used to finance government machinery.

Removal of chief justice   

One of the low points in 2025 was the illegal and unjustified removal of the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.  From the onset of this case, I held that the path President Mahama and his advisors chose was a dangerous one, which could haunt this country in future. The removal of the Chief Justice under some inexplicable and bizzare reasons were constitutional, and an abuse of her fundamental human rights.  Many legal analysts, including the former Chief Justice, Sohpia Akuffo stated that Justice Gertrude Torkornoo did not receive fair hearing and due process of the law. Yet, President Mahama defied all caution and went ahead with her removal. Many right-thinking people have described her dismissal as a political vendetta rather than any legal violations or abuse of office she might have committed.

Uncontrolled road accidents

In an earlier article last year, I had cause to describe the road accidents as Ghana’s biggest public health threat. This is because of the incessant and mindless road accidents that are wasting lives and destroying property running into billions of cedis annually.  Statistics released by National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) revealed that by end of 2025, there were over 13,000 crashes and 2,600 deaths.

The worse of the carnage on our roads occurred on Monday, July 28, 2025, on the Accra-Kumasi Highway near Juaso, Ghana, where 16 youth of the Saviour Church of God died instantly.  Their vehicle collided with a fuel tanker near their hometown of Obogu, Asante Akyem South. The victims, aged 15 to 25, were given a mass burial. This was one painful event in 2025 that left an indelible memory on the minds of many Ghanaians. The recklessness and mindless overtaking, overloading and wrong parking as still ongoing. See you next week for part of this article.

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