Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater – Joe Jackson urges Mahama

With the clock ticking toward John Dramani Mahama’s assumption of office on January 7, prominent financial analyst and CEO of Dalex Finance and Leasing Company Limited, Joe Jackson, has sparked a conversation with his advice to the incoming administration.

Jackson’s message, shared on social media, called for a pragmatic approach to governance by refining, rather than discarding, key policies initiated by the outgoing New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.

“Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater,” Jackson urged, emphasizing the value of continuity.

He specifically pointed to three flagship initiatives: the Bank of Ghana’s “Gold for Reserves/Gold for Oil,” the Ministry of Tourism’s “Year of Return,” and the Ministry of Agriculture’s “One Village, One Dam.”

According to Jackson, these programs represent “excellent concepts” but suffer from “ambiguous execution.”

He added, “Create new labels, but do it!”—encouraging the Mahama-led government to address the shortcomings in implementation while preserving the initiatives’ core objectives.

The “Gold for Reserves/Gold for Oil” initiative, designed to stabilize fuel prices by leveraging Ghana’s gold reserves for oil imports, faced criticism for transparency and feasibility issues.

Similarly, the “Year of Return” gained international acclaim for boosting tourism and reconnecting the African diaspora with their roots but fell short in capitalizing on its momentum.

Meanwhile, the “One Village, One Dam” project aimed at enhancing rural agriculture through irrigation systems but was plagued by allegations of subpar construction and limited impact.