Former President John Mahama has revealed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lost the 2016 general elections to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) because President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave Ghanaians gargantuan promises.
He said he was honest to Ghanaians about the state of Ghana’s economy but his [Nana Addo] promises swayed votes in his favour.
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According to him, he had an "incumbency disadvantage".
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Durban, South Africa on Thursday, he stated that "I knew what the economy could give the people and I told the people the truth that we need more hard work to be able to get out of where we are; my opponent promised heaven and you have the constraints of not being able to promise all the rosy things he was doing."
Mahama added that "The people made a choice and voted me out"...it is part of the learning process for all of us."
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For him, "if he [President Nana Akufo-Addo] is able to deliver on his promises, good; if he is not able too, the people would have learnt that not all that glitters is gold".
Meanwhile, the former President has charged leaders to be accountable to citizens in order to build trust in public institutions.
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"Every month when I work, part of my salary is taken as tax, so as a citizen I want to be sure that whoever has been elected into government is going to be accountable on how he uses that money to improve my life," he said.