Researched by GhanaFact Newsroom
The State of the Nation Address (SONA) is a constitutional accountability mechanism that requires the President to account to the people annually, before Parliament. The President’s plans and policies flow from the party manifesto, but more specifically, in each budget cycle, where allocations are made to various sectors of the economy.
With respect to SONA, the President appears before lawmakers to account for what has been achieved in a calendar year and also lays out plans for the next year. Therefore, as fact-checkers, we look into these achievements and rate them as either ‘promises kept, partially kept, in the works’ or broken’. That is what our Promise Meter page does.
In this report, however, our focus is on taking stock of the new promises the President made during the 2026 SONA. This would help us track completion progress across the year till he is ready to deliver the next address in 2027.
We look at sector by sector, the general and specific promises made by president John Dramani Mahama to the people of Ghana.
| Sector | Number of promises |
| Education | 5 |
| Health | 3 |
| Roads and Transport | 3 |
| Job Creation | 4 |
| Trade, Industry and Economy | 3 |
| Housing | 4 |
| Tourism, Arts and Creative Industry | 5 |
| Education |
| Construct a modern, state-of-the-art Special Needs School in Ho in the Volta Region Rehabilitate and upgrade the existing Special Needs School in Akropong, Akuapem. Convert and upgrade 30 Category C schools to Category B, and Category B schools to Category A. In addition, facilities in existing Category A schools will be upgraded and expanded. Construct six Regional TVET Centres of Excellence across the country Establish three (3) new Technical Universities |
| Health |
| Fully roll out a Free Primary Health Care programme Implement the Ridge Hospital phase II, Complete the Police Hospital project and the La General Hospital. |
| Roads and transport |
| By the end of 2027, we will continue and complete the 27.7km Accra-Tema Motorway and Extension Project. Reintroduce tolling on roads and bridges nationwide 100 buses are scheduled to arrive in the country by the end of the Q1 of 2026 Begin work on new regional airports in Sunyani, Bolgatanga and Wa. |
| Job Creation |
| Implement the 24-Hour Economy Programme Expand the Adwumawura programme to support 10,000 additional young entrepreneurs in 2026. Increase participation in the National Apprenticeship Programme from 10,000 to 100,000 young people to build employable skills. Establish three garment factories in the Eastern, Central, and Bono East regions. |
| Trade, Industry, and Economic Production |
| Construct 24-Hour Economy Modern Markets Expansion of urban water supply projects (Keta, Wenchi, Sekondi-Takoradi). Full rollout of Women’s Development Bank |
| Housing |
| Complete the Saglemi Housing Project Construct affordable housing in Tema Construction of 1,000 affordable housing units in Ho. 1,010 housing units planned for victims of the Akosombo dam spillage. |
| Arts, Creative Industry, Tourism |
| Allocate GHS 20 million to the film sector. An additional GHS 20 million will be made available for the wider creative industry. Renovate the Accra International Conference Centre Construct a Convention and Creative Events Centre Renovate the State Banquet Hall |
@factspacewa Do you know about GhanaFact’s PROMISE METER? It is a dedicated page on ghanafact.com where we monitor and evaluate promises made by the government. #Throwback #viraltiktok #ghanatiktok #viralvideochallenge #viral?videotiktok😇😇 #trendy #viralvideo #goviral #viralchallenge #trendingvideo #mahama #trend #SONA
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