Don’t make promises you can’t fulfil – Hawa Koomson advises John Mahama

Mavis Hawa Koomson, the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture has called on former President John Dramani Mahama to desist from politicising the fisheries sector.

She said recent comments by Mahama, who is also the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), on the closed fishing season for canoe and artisanal fisherfolk is very unfortunate.

According to the sector minister, the fishing community will not benefit immensely from the exercise if the policy is politicised.

Speaking to the media after a stakeholder engagement in Accra, Hawa Koomson stated that the NDC flagbearer’s decision to exclude artisanal fishermen from the exercise is not feasible.

“I hear the former president going around to say that when he comes back, he is going to abolish the closed season. I let them [the fishermen] know that it is a law. So I did not even create it. It was the NDC that made the law. And they observed it in 2016.

“I am only continuing what is there because it has become a policy. I want to plead with the former president that he has been in the seat before and he is a former president. When he is before the people and making utterances, he should be very careful because things that you cannot do, you don’t promise them.”

John Mahama has recently promised to invest $3 billion in digital job creation if he wins the 2024 general elections.

Mahama emphasized the NDC's dedication to leveraging digital innovation to combat unemployment and stimulate economic growth. He highlighted the potential of the digital economy to offer opportunities for the youth and to position Ghana as a competitive player on the global stage.

“Our vision is to create a robust digital ecosystem that will foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and job creation. By investing $3 billion in digital jobs, we aim to equip our young people with the skills and tools they need to thrive in the 21st-century economy,” Mahama stated.

Mahama also pledged that the next NDC government would prioritise reviving the country's traditional export sector, particularly cocoa farming. He stressed the importance of providing incentives to cocoa farmers to boost exports and capitalise on improved world market prices.

“We will also increase production in our oil and gas sector. The last eight years have been wasted without one single oil well brought on stream,” Mahama lamented.

He criticised the current administration for not developing additional oil wells, especially during a global shift towards green energy.

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