A lecturer with the University of Ghana Business School says the Akufo-Addo administration has started on a good note which gives Ghanaians a sense of renewed hope. 

Prof. Godfred A. Bokpin said 100 days is not enough for a policy decision to bear fruit so he agrees with those who argue that government should be given more time before any proper assessment is done.

Speaking on Joy FM's Ghana Connect programme Friday, he said Akufo-Addo, as compared to his predecessors has done relatively well and cited the strong performance of the cedi as one of the achievements of the new government.

He added that the caliber of people appointed to serve in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) signals hope for development.

“The president has been very smart in his mix of appointees. There are old and experienced, young as well as experts," he said. 

Touching on the budget, Prof Bopkin said it is good but the implementation is what is most crucial. "It just captures good intentions, and at this stage of our development we cannot take intention for accomplishment…it needs a clear implementation strategy to translate into actuals because we want results,” he said.

The Associate Professor said he feared the worst regarding President Akufo-Addo’s security performance given the divisions in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the run-up to the election.

According to him, there were arguments about whether he is capable of controlling his own party, “but I think that the president has been smart.

"That played out in the numbers in his ministry appointments and he has been able to tell Ghanaians that he is human."

“There have been surprises in terms of the actions of the Delta and Invincible Forces, but I want to believe it is something that they have to take seriously because security has implications on the economy," he stated.

He added that since security is broad, it would be unfair to assess the Akufo-Addo government in that regard based on failure in some department.

Assessing how government has fared regarding energy, he said the uncertainty in the sector has reduced, adding it is good to know that government is not only focusing on reviewing contracts but rather considering efficiency as well.

Government has said it is focused on transmission losses, generation losses as well as distribution losses and how to reduce them.

He, however, cautions that although these are good there are extra factors outside the control of government that must be considered.

Although Prof Bokpin who said the President Akufo-Addo government has done well so far also believes there should be more coordination between the MDAs to buy into the President’s vision.

He said they have done good so far.

Contributing to the discussion, Dr Godwin Etse Sikanku, a Communication lecturer who, together with a team, researched on the communication, media and PR performance of the government in 100 days said the president started on the wrong footing with the embarrassing issue of the plagiarism during his inaugural speech. 

He said Ghana became the laughing stock of the international community and opened itself up for ridicule on major international networks like CNN, BBC and their likes. 

According to Dr Sikanku, the president's appointment of 110 ministers was another issue of major embarrassment. Critics did not understand why larger countries with larger populations have far lower number of ministers only for our president to appoint a battalion of ministers for a relatively small country.

However, he praised the President's novelty in the manner in which he announced his appointments as well as his media friendliness and openness.