President John Mahama has attributed the nation’s recent economic gains over the last five months to effective leadership.

He debunked claims by leading members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) that the country’s recent economic gains were due to policies they had put in place before leaving office.

The President made the remarks during a courtesy call on him at the Presidency in Accra by a 20-member delegation of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC) led by its President, Reverend Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, who is also the Bishop of the Sunyani Diocese.

The bishops were at the Presidency to congratulate the President on his massive victory in the December 7, 2024, general election and to present a litany of issues of national concern for his attention, such as the menace of illegal mining, the education reform, governance and electoral reforms.

He said during the 2024 election campaign, he campaigned on resetting the nation and that the massive votes he and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) received at the polls showed that Ghanaians had bought into the message and believed that he would be able to reset things.

He reiterated the commitment of his government to reset things to build the confidence of the people in the nation’s democracy again, saying, “and so that responsibility is not lost on me.”

He said that since 7th January, every step he had taken was meant to restore the faith of Ghanaians in the nation’s democracy.

He assured Ghanaians that his administration was leading the country in a way that was different from what had been done in the past.

President Mahama said first and foremost his administration’s focus over the last five months was addressing the cost of living and the general hardship that Ghanaians were going through.

Others are stabilising the economy, reducing hardship, cutting down expenditure, bringing more accountability into governments, acting in a strong fight against corruption and introducing codes of conduct to guide leaders in political office.

“So, these are all things that we have, you know, focused on and fast-tracked in the last five months. And happily, we have seen a response to the work that we’ve done,” the President said.

He added: “Especially when it comes to the economy and hardship and all that. And somebody says, point to one policy that you have implemented to make the cedi appreciate. And I said, one policy. It’s not about one policy. The answer is effective leadership. With effective leadership, we can turn this economy around and create a better life for our people.”

The President said further: “And that is what I’m committed to. To make sure that by the time we finish these four years, we’ll set a standard in government that whichever party or whichever people come into governance that cannot reverse the gains that we have made in restoring our people’s confidence in our democracy.”

He assured the Catholic bishops that his administration would continue to listen to the nuggets of wisdom that they gave them, because it makes them better and stronger.

He noted that it helps them to do what the Ghanaian people had given them the mandate to do.

Rev Matthew Gyamfi, President, GCBC, presented to the President issues of national concern for his attention, such as the menace of illegal mining, educational reforms, governance and electoral reforms.