You�ll Hear From Me-Mahama

In his maiden address to the nation since assuming the presidency, President John Dramani Mahama told Ghanaians that he would announce his policy agenda in the next two weeks. �In the next two weeks, I will present an agenda to the nation on some policy measures we must take to consolidate the progress we have made as a nation,� he said in the nationwide broadcast. Mr Mahama, who has been in charge of the country for the past three weeks, indicated that Ghanaians had to wait for another two weeks to know his policy direction for the next three months before elections. He charged Ghanaians to build on the legacy of the late President John Evans Atta Mills. �My brothers and sisters, let us take the opportunity provided by our unity at this difficult time to build on the legacy that was created by Professor Mills, and the legacies that were created by the presidents who served before him, in order to move forward and claim our destiny.� Ghanaians, he said, should use the passing away of the president to re-focus local politics, stressing that politics, which some considered dirty, had been made so by politicians themselves. �Let us tap on the rich and diverse talents in the country to spur accelerated development,� he said, pointing out that he was aware that there were places suffering lack of economic and health infrastructure. That situation, he was optimistic, could be reversed. Ghanaians, who he said had the propensity to remain united, in spite of their differences of politics, ethnicity and religion, should believe in themselves. He opened his speech with an expression of gratitude to his compatriots for their support during the funeral of the late President John Evans Atta Mills. Continuing, he said, �There are some who believe that this feeling of goodwill we have towards one another will fade sooner rather than later; and that so, too, will the unity that it has produced. I don�t share that belief�. �Our differences of identity, differences of opinion and differences of political party or ideology must never overshadow our patriotism as Ghanaians,� he said. Events of the past three weeks, he said, had reminded us of the importance of unity, adding, �We are in a new era of hope and opportunities.� �Though I have always been proud to be a Ghanaian�, he said, �over the course of the past three weeks, as I watched our country coming together to mourn, to remember and to reconcile, I felt that pride in an even more profound way�. President Mahama added, �We Ghanaians have always been exemplary. Whether we support Hearts of Oak or Asante Kotoko, when it�s time for the Black Stars to play, we are indivisible.� When other nations descended into ethnic rivalries and warfare, he recalled, �we Ghanaians worked and laughed, ate and lived together without regard to ethnic background�. In celebrating the peace in the country, he said, �the reason we have always been exemplary in our expression of peace and tolerance is because we Ghanaians have always been aware that standing united is not the same as standing unanimously�. �The best tribute Ghanaians could pay the memory of our departed president�, he pointed out, �would be to continue to keep the flame of peace burning�. �I hereby use this occasion to urge all political actors to use the unprecedented event of Professor Mills� passing, which so united our nation in grief, to effectively refocus Ghanaian politics and alter its tone for ever.� There was space in the political arena, he stressed, �to compete for political leadership in an atmosphere of decency and dignity�.