‘Criticism helps me to do better’ – Mahama urges Ghanaians to speak up regardless of political ties

Nii Ayitey Brown 16:01 - 30 October 2026

President John Dramani Mahama

Speaking to the Ghanaian community in Moscow, President John Dramani Mahama urged citizens to openly criticise leadership when the country strays off course, citing past silence during economic debt crises as a warning for the nation.

President Mahama says criticism helps him improve and urges Ghanaians to speak up when they believe the country is heading in the wrong direction.
He recalled Ghana's previous debt crisis, saying citizens and experts failed to raise concerns about the country's borrowing.
Mahama says he also monitors social media complaints and sometimes contacts ministers to demand answers about issues raised by citizens.

President John Dramani Mahama has urged Ghanaians to openly criticise leaders when they believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, adding that public criticism helps him improve his leadership.

He said citizens should not remain silent when they notice decisions that could harm the country, regardless of their political affiliations.

The President made the remarks during an interaction with members of the Ghanaian community in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, October 29, 2026.

Speaking about the importance of public accountability, Mahama recalled Ghana’s borrowing during the previous administration and said citizens, including experts and researchers, failed to speak up despite what he described as warning signs.

He said the country borrowed heavily from the international market for consumption and that the situation eventually led to financial difficulties, affecting investors and pensioners and the country at large.

We shouldn't have a situation where we sit aloof when we can see the country being run down, you understand. I mean, how did we sit and borrow, borrow $3 billion every year for consumption. And therefore eventually find that we borrowed more than $13 billion off the Eurobond market, you know, and all of us were seated there. There were researchers. There were experts like Professor here. Everybody was quiet, and we knew that we were running into a hole.

“I several times accused the former finance minister of cooking the books. I said his figures were not right and that we owed more than he was saying we did, but everybody was quiet and we all fell into the ditch. And people lost money. Pensioners lost their pensions. And today we've tried to claw it back. And so tomorrow if we see the danger signs that somebody is leading us the wrong way, we must all, all of us, not based on partisan leanings, all of us must say no, we're not going in the right direction,” Mahama said.

Mahama then said he was prepared to receive criticism from Ghanaians, even when they disagreed with the direction of his government.

“I don't mind if people tell me that I'm leading the country in the wrong direction. I'm trying to do my best. Criticism helps me to do better. And so when people criticize me and they say, no, this is not right, this is not right.”

Mahama's comments is a call for Ghanaians to learn from the country's past financial difficulties and speak up whenever they believe leaders are making decisions that could put the country at risk.

What have you been saying on Tik Tok? President Mahama says he sees them. He says social media platforms, including TikTok, help him monitor public complaints and concerns about government performance, which he shares with appointees for attention. He spoke during an interaction with some Ghanaians living in Russia. #JoyNews
— JoyNews (@JoyNewsOnTV) October 30, 2026

Loading discussion…