More than a year after President John Mahama outlined several commitments during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) following his electoral victory, this report assesses whether the administration has delivered on its social contract with Ghanaians.
President John Dramani Mahama, on February 27, 2025, presented his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) since his return to office. In the address, the President announced a series of policies and projects targeting different sectors, including the economy, health, education, environment, and sports.
The SONA is a constitutional obligation which requires presidents to give updates on government commitments and outline key priorities for the ensuing year. The address is, therefore, delivered to the people of Ghana from the floor of Parliament. Per our tracking of the 2025 SONA, we found 42 promises in total. 24 of the promises have been kept, 4 broken promises, and 14 of them are work in progress.
In this Promise Meter report, GhanaFact rates promises President Mahama made with emphasis on their various stages of completion using the following metrics: Promises Kept, Promises Broken, and Promises in the Works.
Economy
Under the economic sector, the president made at least six promises. These included the implementation of the Big Push policy, the Adwumawura and national apprenticeship policies, and the 24-hour economy, among others. Per our checks, all six promises announced in the 2025 SONA have been kept.
Health
The president also made promises related to the health sector during his address in 2025. We found that three of these promises were kept, one broken, and one work in progress.
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Environment
The president made some promises on the environment during the 2025 SONA. Out of the numerous promises he gave in this sector, three are deemed to have been kept, two broken and five were work in progress as of the 2026 SONA.
Education
On pronouncement on education, the President made fourteen (14) promises. Of these promises, nine (9) were kept, four (4) have been identified as work in progress, and we could not find evidence of whether one of the promises has been fulfilled. Check the table below to see the various stages of the promises.
Sports
Under the sports ministry, the President made two promises in his 2025 State of the Nation Address, including developing a comprehensive National Sports Policy and launching a National Recreation Day. We track and rank the progress in the box below.
| PROMISES | PROMISE STATUS |
| Introduce electric motorcycles on a hire-purchase scheme to eliminate petrol use in the okada sector. | Broken |
| Develop multi-modal transport infrastructure, including rail and inland waterways (Volta Lake freight) | Broken |
| Through NHIS, restart the ONUADOR mobile van health centres – (A response from NHIA Facebook to GhanaFact shows the programme has not commenced.) | Broken |
| Announced the completion and operationalisation of the Afari military hospital | In the works |
| Agenda 111 completion – Directed the Health Minister to secure partnerships | In the works |
| Reduce the number of staff at the presidency compared to what existed under the previous administration. | In the works |
| Expand the Minerals Commission’s regional offices to strengthen regulatory oversight. | In the works |
| Achieve 100% gas utilisation for power production in the medium term, eliminating the use of crude oil (saving hundreds of millions in fuel imports) | In the works |
| Drive investment in solar street lighting, rooftop solar, off-grid solar systems, electric vehicle charging stations, and chargeable outboard motors | In the works |
| Address tidal wave erosion threatening two-thirds of Ghana’s 550km coastline. | In the works |
| Commission a feasibility study for coastal water transport services to reduce road traffic and environmental pollution – Link. | In the works |
| Develop a comprehensive National Sports Policy to align with international norms. This policy will be accompanied by an exhaustive review of the Sports Act of 2016 (Act 934) and the rigorous enforcement of the Sports Regulations 2023 (LI 2477) – (Developed and to be adopted in the first quarter of 2026) | In the works |
| The government will redefine the scope of basic education and introduce the “Zero to Hero” initiative to enhance foundational literacy and numeracy. | In the works |
| The government committed to ending the double-track system by accelerating school infrastructure and completing stalled projects. | In the works |
| Feasibility studies will begin this year for new public universities or campuses in the six new regions. | In the works |
| This flagship program will equip 10,000 young people in the informal sector with employable skills, covering apprenticeship fees and providing start- up kits. | In the works |
| Hold National Economic Dialogue to discuss the State of the economy | Kept |
| Activate the 24-Hour Economy initiative. | Kept |
| Implement the US$ 10 billion Big Push Policy. | Kept |
| Roll out the Adwumawura Programme | Kept |
| Launch our flagship National Apprenticeship Programme. | Kept |
| One Million Coders Programme | Kept |
| Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA): Feed Ghana Programme | Kept |
| Establish the Ghana Medical Trust Fund | Kept |
| USAID funding cut – Directed the Finance Minister to cover the gap created | Kept |
| Reduction of ministerial appointees to 60 | Kept |
| Amend the regulatory framework to regularise the use of Okada for commercial passenger transport. | Kept |
| The launch of a National Recreation Day—a monthly initiative centred on community engagement—alongside an annual National Recreation Festival. | Kept |
| Launch the Blue Water Initiative to address water body contamination – Link. | Kept |
| Establish a Gold Board to ensure effective governance of the gold industry – Link. | Kept |
| Launch the ‘Tree for Life’ restoration policy and the Blue Water Initiative, which will transform mined-out areas into ecological recovery zones – Link. | Kept |
| A standardised National Sign Language will be introduced for hearing-impaired learners from Kindergarten through Senior High School (SHS)- link. | Kept |
| The government will not cancel the free SHS programme. | Kept |
| Parent-Teacher Associations will be restored to encourage community participation in school administration. | Kept |
| Food management will be decentralised, eventually handing over full procurement and management to secondary school heads. | Kept |
| GETFUND will be uncapped | Kept |
| The government will implement the “No Fee Stress policy” to eliminate tertiary admission fees and remove barriers to higher education. | Kept |
| A “Student Loan Plus” scheme will be introduced to support the no-fee policy. | Kept |
| The no-fee tertiary policy will cover all Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) who gain admission. | Kept |
| The government will streamline the scholarship process to ensure it reaches the needy, including publishing the list of beneficiaries annually. | Kept |
| Plans will begin for a 20% allowance for teachers who agree to serve in rural and underserved areas | Broken |
| Establish a framework categorising mining activities into small, medium, and large-scale operations, each with tailored regulations | In the works |
By GhanaFact Newsroom
