John Dramani Mahama will be sworn in for his second term as Ghana’s president today with a fresh mandate to tackle familiar challenges, including corruption, high unemployment, inflation and public discontent.
The opposition leader, 66, won the December 7 presidential election by a wide margin to stage a political comeback in the West African nation.
He replaces Nana Akufo-Addo, who steps down after serving two terms, continuing Ghana’s democratic tradition in a region gripped elsewhere by military coups and jihadist insurgencies.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis, an ongoing bailout from the International Monetary Fund and a sovereign debt default, Ghana’s economy is again growing.
But Mahama will be under pressure to deliver quickly on campaign promises to curb high youth unemployment and root out entrenched corruption.
