The minority in Parliament is urging President John Dramani Mahama to address pressing issues affecting Ghanaians ahead of his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Friday, February 27.

According to the Caucus, the President must provide a detailed account of the recent cocoa price reduction, a move they say has sparked serious concerns among farmers and industry stakeholders.

They are also seeking explanations regarding ongoing complaints about rapidly depleting prepaid electricity credit, which many consumers say is adding to their financial burden.

Speaking to JoyNews’ Kwaku Asante on February 26 ahead of SONA tomorrow, the Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, outlined the matters he believes the President must address.

On the general mood in the country, he said, "You can see there is a lot of despondency among the Ghanaian people. We've recently heard about the cocoa haircut, which has affected over a million of cocoa farmers in the country.”

He further explained the impact on farmers and their families:
“They are not only talking about just the million; they have a lot of dependents, those who are students in school, and all those things. These are very difficult moments for those Ghanaian farmers that are losing money as a result of the government's decision to cut down the producer price."

Touching on electricity tariff concerns, he stated:
“Recently, we also heard about people complaining about electricity. This was a decision that was taken by the government just to increase the electricity tariff by some 28%, and we are now feeling the impact of it. So, these are people who are complaining.”

On youth unemployment, he added:
“The youth who were promised employment are still saying that they have not gotten the job that this government promised them.”

He stressed that these are the key issues that must be addressed: “These are three key things. So, if the president is coming here tomorrow, he should be bringing solutions as to how these matters are going to be dealt with.”

He cautioned against relying solely on macroeconomic indicators: “It is not enough to say that inflation has come down; the cedi is strong. I mean, it is not enough. That is not enough. We are talking about bread-and-butter issues.”

He continued, “Bread issues are affecting the ordinary person, those who have that hope in this government and went to the queue to vote for that government. That is what we are looking at. So, if the government is not coming to give solutions to these issues, well, I don't know what is coming.”

He was of the view that Ghanaians are not interested in peripheral matters:
“He can decide to be talking about plenty of things, but that is not what the Ghanaian populace is interested in.”

According to him, the President has an opportunity to respond directly to these concerns:
“We are interested in this matter that I put before you, and I believe tomorrow the President will have a fine opportunity to come and tell the Ghanaian people that this is how I intend to solve the electricity challenges that people are complaining.”

Drawing a comparison with past leadership, he observed:
“It happened in 2018 when Ghanaians were complaining about high tariffs on electricity. Akufo-Addo took a decision to reduce electricity tariffs by 14% for non-residential consumers, and that is what leadership is about.”

"I expect President Mahama and his government to also pull the same line and protect the ordinary person," he emphasised.

Following the minority’s remarks, the Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini (NDC), has defended President John Dramani Mahama, arguing that many of the issues currently facing the country were inherited from previous administrations.

“I’m happy they acknowledge that they have created problems that His Excellency President Mahama is creating solutions for. Because, clearly, when you talk about cocoa, I think that those who have followed the discussion are now fully aware that the problem was fully inherited by President Mahama, and the steps that he is taking are steps that will resolve the problems, not just for his regime, but for even governments that will come after him,” he said.

He also highlighted challenges in the electricity sector, which he says was left in disarray by the previous government: “When you talk about electricity, we know the debts that they left behind in that sector; the mismanagement of even ESLA, which was left for them to solve the problems in that sector itself, became a subject of mismanagement, and they know the mess that they created. I'm not surprised. They are hoping that solutions will be featured in President Mahama's SONA.”

Mr Suhuyini said expectations for solutions are based on confidence in the President’s leadership:
“I think that it is based on their confidence in him and the confidence of the Ghanaian people in him to inherit problems and to fix them for the future. And I am also expecting solutions to the problems that they, in the NPP, created.”

He explained that Mahama returned to the presidency specifically to tackle these inherited challenges:
“That is the only reason why President Mahama decided to return to be president, so that he could resolve the challenges that they left behind.”

On macroeconomic issues, he added:
“They are not interested in macroeconomic figures because they know that he has already fixed that problem that they created, taking us to DDEP, the first time in the history of this country. We were unable to service our debt. Pensioners had to endure haircuts, and they know that President Mahama, within a year, has fixed that problem, and so that's why they no longer want to listen to that.”

He concluded by praising the President’s approach:
“But President Mahama, being who he is, will give a correct account of the affairs of the state, and he will do so sincerely, and he will do so with the humility that he is noted for.”

Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Kintampo, Joseph Kwame Kumah, called on the President to provide an honest and unflinching account of the nation’s state.

“The President's State of the Nation Address, which is an annual requirement, has become a ritual. And what we expect the President, for instance, to tell Ghanaians is nothing but the truth. The real State of the Nation Address should tell Ghanaians what it will take them to accept whatever outcomes are ahead of us,” he said.

“Some of us will not like anything like flattering. Ghanaians are waiting for nothing but truism,” he added.

In response to criticisms from the NPP regarding cocoa, the economy, and other issues, he stated that the government has made measurable progress.

“Even this morning, I'm understanding inflation has further reduced to about 3.5%. What do they expect?" he said.

He highlighted improvements for ordinary traders:

“The common trader will tell you from Makola Market that she is able now to buy rice at low as even 25 cedis. 50 cedis per kilo, which was a total of 150 cedis.”