Ghana’s ex-president, John Dramani Mahama, has in a New year Message encouraged Ghanaians not to lose hope in the face of austerity measures in 2023 that will require more sacrifices from citizens.

In his New Year’s address, emphasized that Ghanaians must not lose hope despite the economic blows the country has taken over the last year

In a Facebook post, he said Ghanaians “cannot give up on our dear homeland Ghana” in the face of the spending cuts and sacrifices that 2023 would bring, as a result of reckless borrowing and mismanagement by the government.

Read his full statement below

Our dear nation, Ghana, defaulted on our debt obligations due to reckless binge borrowing over the last few years.

Ghanaians have been confronted with unprecedented hardships never seen under this Fourth Republic. And our democracy and patience as a people were tested to their elastic limits.

We welcome the new year, 2023, knowing that a journey of austerity and sacrifice is just beginning. But we cannot give up HOPE! We cannot give up on our dear motherland Ghana.

As we face the future with fortitude, let us remember the solemn words of the hymnist, Johnson Oatman Jr, when he urges us to Count Our Blessings and Name Them One by One.

We have been fortunate to survive as a nation and are lucky by the grace of the Almighty to be alive to see the dawn of a new year. Once we have the gift of life, which is the most important of all, there is an opportunity in the new year to be better versions of ourselves and work even harder towards salvaging our dear nation from the avoidable abyss into which she has been plunged.

May this new year open the pathway and bring us to the cusp of building the ‘Ghana We Want’— a Ghana of opportunities for all and one in which our individual and collective aspirations are achieved.

I wish you all, my fellow countrymen and women, a very Happy and Prosperous New Year” he said.

Don’t miss out! Get your daily dose of Entertainment news and more straight to your phone. Join Ghana Street Journal Whatsapp channel now!