The Minority in Parliament has strongly criticized President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, accusing it of unjustifiably dismissing innocent Ghanaians from public service, failing to manage the economy effectively, and plunging the country back into a power crisis.
In response to President Mahama’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) since assuming office in 2025, the opposition dismissed his claims and painted a starkly different picture of the country’s current state. According to the Minority, the true state of the nation is marked by heightened insecurity, widespread job losses, economic uncertainty, and the return of the dreaded power outages known as dumsor.
The Minority accused the Mahama-led government of launching a politically motivated purge within the public sector, leading to the mass termination of appointments, particularly among young professionals.
“The true State of the Nation is one that is characterized by heightened insecurity, mass termination of the appointment of Ghanaian youth, mass violations of the human rights of Ghanaians, uncertainties in relation to the directions of economic management by the NDC Government, and dumsor, among others,” the Minority’s statement declared.
They argued that these dismissals were not based on performance or misconduct but were a deliberate effort to replace experienced professionals with party loyalists. The opposition further linked these job losses to growing insecurity, claiming that a lack of economic opportunities is fueling crime.
The opposition also took aim at the worsening power situation, accusing President Mahama of failing to keep the lights on despite inheriting a stable energy sector from the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
“In his last State of the Nation Address, former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated, and rightly so: ‘It is worth emphasizing that I inherited a nation plagued by dumsor, but I am very happy to say that I leave office in 2025 with the lights on.’ Sadly, after 7th January 2025, the Government of President Mahama has failed to keep the lights on,” the statement read.
While the Mahama administration has blamed the power crisis on maintenance works on the West Africa Gas Pipeline, the Minority rejected this excuse, questioning why similar maintenance activities under the NPP did not lead to nationwide blackouts.
“We do not know whether under the NPP government, the Gas Pipeline was going through similar maintenance. If so, why were the lights on, but cannot be on today because of the maintenance of the Pipeline?” Minority spokesperson Stephen Amoah asked.
Mass Dismissals, Insecurity, and Dumsor: The True State of the Nation Under Mahama – Minority
The Minority in Parliament has strongly criticized President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, accusing it of unjustifiably dismissing innocent Ghanaians from public service, failing to manage the economy effectively, and plunging the country back into a power crisis.
In response to President Mahama’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) since assuming office in 2025, the opposition dismissed his claims and painted a starkly different picture of the country’s current state. According to the Minority, the true state of the nation is marked by heightened insecurity, widespread job losses, economic uncertainty, and the return of the dreaded power outages known as dumsor.
Unjust Dismissals and Insecurity
The Minority accused the Mahama-led government of launching a politically motivated purge within the public sector, leading to the mass termination of appointments, particularly among young professionals.
“The true State of the Nation is one that is characterized by heightened insecurity, mass termination of the appointment of Ghanaian youth, mass violations of the human rights of Ghanaians, uncertainties in relation to the directions of economic management by the NDC Government, and dumsor, among others,” the Minority’s statement declared.
They argued that these dismissals were not based on performance or misconduct but were a deliberate effort to replace experienced professionals with party loyalists. The opposition further linked these job losses to growing insecurity, claiming that a lack of economic opportunities is fueling crime.
The Return of Dumsor
The opposition also took aim at the worsening power situation, accusing President Mahama of failing to keep the lights on despite inheriting a stable energy sector from the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
“In his last State of the Nation Address, former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated, and rightly so: ‘It is worth emphasizing that I inherited a nation plagued by dumsor, but I am very happy to say that I leave office in 2025 with the lights on.’ Sadly, after 7th January 2025, the Government of President Mahama has failed to keep the lights on,” the statement read.
While the Mahama administration has blamed the power crisis on maintenance works on the West Africa Gas Pipeline, the Minority rejected this excuse, questioning why similar maintenance activities under the NPP did not lead to nationwide blackouts.
“We do not know whether under the NPP government, the Gas Pipeline was going through similar maintenance. If so, why were the lights on, but cannot be on today because of the maintenance of the Pipeline?” Minority spokesperson Stephen Amoah asked.
The Minority warned that dumsor was crippling small businesses, including dressmakers, ice water sellers, and hair salons, many of whom rely on stable electricity for their daily operations. They also highlighted the dire impact on the health sector, where hospitals and clinics are struggling to operate, putting patients’ lives at risk.
“Many hospitals and clinics have started counting their losses as medical patients have become more exposed to the risks of survival due to the inability of these facilities to conduct regular operations,” the statement added.
The Minority further accused Mahama’s government of having no clear economic direction, creating uncertainty in the business community. They argued that the country’s economic challenges were being worsened by poor policy decisions and a lack of transparency in financial management.