A 2024 New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Adentan and a special aide to former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has given the Mahama administration a poor rating in its first year, arguing that the government has failed to deliver on its flagship promise of a 24-hour economy.
Akosua Manu, speaking in an interview with Desmond Okraku Danso on Metro TV’s Good Afternoon Ghana on Thursday, January 8, 2026, said she has not been impressed by the government’s performance so far, especially when measured against its campaign promises to create jobs for young people.
“If I was to rate them based on their campaign promise, and a policy-driven promise which primarily would have touched on the lives of young people as far as jobs were concerned, they promised a 24-hour economy,” she said.
“That was their flagship policy… what are the outcomes?”
She questioned the lack of clear timelines and visible impact, despite reports that about GH¢110 million has been allocated to the programme.
Comparing it with the NPP’s Free SHS policy, she argued that the former government implemented its flagship policy within its first year in office.
“Free SHS was launched in 2017, within the first year of governance, and the fruits of it are visible,” she said. “You didn’t have to show your party card to access free education. We saw it.”
On that basis, she said the current government deserves a low score.
“On that score, maybe I give them a solid 2 out of 10, because I haven’t seen anything,” he stated, adding that ongoing protests by party supporters demanding jobs show that “a government has a lot more to do.”
Turning to the economy, Akosua Manu, known popularly as Kozie, said she does not believe the Mahama administration has introduced any bold new ideas.
“You took a ship and you are not turning left or right, you are just holding and going,” she said.
“The ship went through a crisis, a global crisis, and out of which bold ideas and solutions were preferred.”
She credited economic stability largely to the Gold Purchase Programme introduced under Dr Bawumia, insisting that the current government is benefiting from that policy rather than its own initiatives.
“That policy… is one of the core anchors of stability, as far as this government is concerned,” she said, claiming that both the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana have admitted its importance.
“I won’t give them credit,” she added.
“If they had scrapped that and implemented their own ideas and said this is what is steadying the ship, then I would agree. But they are feeding off what you started.”
Using an analogy, she argued that policies take time to yield results and that the gains being seen now are rooted in decisions taken under the previous administration.
“When a policy is implemented, it takes some time for you to see its fruits,” she said, noting that some positive outcomes were already evident before the NPP left office.
Asked to rate the government’s performance on the economy, she stopped short of giving an overall score but praised the administration for retaining the Gold Purchase Programme.
“I would give them 100% for not scrapping Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s idea,” she said.
“That honesty gives credence to my amazing, visionary candidate.”
The comments came as the NPP gears up for its January 31 presidential primaries.
Earlier on Thursday, a group of NPP parliamentary candidates who contested the 2024 general elections formally declared their collective support for Dr Bawumia to become the party’s next flag bearer.
Akosua Manu said the developments around the economy only strengthen her support for the former vice president, describing him as the candidate with the ideas needed to steer the country through difficult times.
Source: metrotvonline.com
