In a Facebook post on his official handle, Mahama acknowledged the economic and democratic headwinds that Ghana faced in 2022 and tasked the citizenry to keep hope as they enter a new year.
He cited reckless binge borrowing as one of the main causes of the economic challenges that Ghana faced in te course of the year, stressing that 2023 was a year the country had to be salvaged from an avoidable abyss it had been plunged into.
"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 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," his statement read in part.
Full statement: My 2023 New Year Message to the people of Ghana.
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What a year it has been!
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 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.
December 31, 2022
John Dramani Mahama