Deputy Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation says he is displeased with the government’s score in the “iManifesto 2019” report on the fulfillment of campaign promises government made during the 2016 electioneering period.

William Kwasi Sabi, reacting to the report on PM Express on Wednesday hopped the score was higher. 

“I am not very proud that we are at 48.78% …in the sense that in school even if you get 49 percent it is still not a pass mark. So one would have wished that we had 50 or more percent,” he stated.

Policy think tank, IMANI Africa, in a recent report scored the Akufo-Addo government an overall mark of 48.78% with regards to the fulfilment of its 2016 manifesto promises.

The report indicated that out of a total of 162 promises, only 41 have been implemented, classifying it as weak and satisfactory progress.

Mr Sabi noted that the report would help draw government’s attention to issues that it may have overlooked and commended IMANI Africa for coming out with a comprehensive report as such.

The Member of Parliament for Dormaa East Constituency, however, challenged the report indicating that the report considers each campaign promise independently whereas the government implements programmes to fulfil its collective policy agenda.

He cited an example saying, “1D1F we are implementing, when you look at it in the manifesto, it is under industralisation policy that we came up with but it has a repealing effect on employment. If you are able to establish so many industries in the various districts at the end of the day when the industries are working very well, they will end up employing a lot of people.

“So even though we haven’t actually taken employment as an activity in the manifesto, we will be fulfilling our job creation promise in the manifesto,” he explained.

Head of Research of IMANI Africa, Patrick Stephenson replying to the Minister explained that programmes implemented by government that fulfils other campaign promises get a maximum score of one.

“So when we see that, that particular commitment has been implemented to the letter, a full mark is allotted,” he clarified.

Mr Stephenson also said the report by IMANI on the political party’s manifesto, over the years, has caused politicians to come up with scientific and realistic campaign promises.

“Looking at the manifesto we saw in 2008, 2012 and 2016 there has been a dramatic improvement. It is beginning to look as though political parties are taking the construction of manifesto seriously,” he said.

IMANI’s manifesto assessments of the ability of elected governments to substantially deliver on the commitments they make to their constituents have become a necessary activity on the Ghanaian electoral calendar.

The assessment in the case of successive Ghanaian governments since 2008, has taken the shape of;

1. Assessment of the manifesto’s ability to transform the Ghanaian economy along with some baseline parameters,

2. An interim (midterm) assessment of the winning party’s commitment to the manifesto, and

3. A final assessment of the execution of promises over the term of the government, considering various opportunities and threats the government could have been exposed to, domestic or internationally.