Nana Akufo-Addo was sworn in as Ghana’s president on Saturday January 7, 2017 in a ceremony attended by dozens of African leaders, sealing a rare peaceful transfer of power in a region plagued by political crises.
Akufo-Addo, 72, a former opposition leader, defeated incumbent John Dramani Mahama in elections a month ago.
The major cocoa and gold exporter is half-way through a three-year aid programme with the International Monetary Fund to fix an economy dogged by high public debt and inflation.
Ghana’s new president Nana Akufo-Addo said he would cut taxes to boost the economy.
“We will reduce taxes to recover the momentum of our economy,” Akufo-Addo said. “Ghana is open for business again.”
In a speech as he took office, the President said “I will not let the good people of Ghana down.
“I pledge to do my best to move this country to higher level of development; I will not let the good people of Ghana down.
“We should move on to deepen our democracy.”
The 72-year-old president also promised to work with Ghana’s neighbours “to ensure stability on the African continent.”
The new president, a lawyer who served as Ghana’s foreign minister in 2008, vowed to build on the West African country’s economic success.
Akufo-Addo got 53.85 per cent of the votes in Ghana’s September election to defeat incumbent John Mahama who got 44 per cent of the votes.
Report says the peaceful transfer of power from ex-president Mahama was drawing special attention.
Fourteen African heads of state including Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta attended the ceremony in Accra.
