President John Dramani Mahama has described the state of the nation Ghana as resilient, renewing and firmly in the hands of its people.
The President made these remarks in his 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered to Parliament on Friday.
“Nations endure not because they are spared trial but because their people refuse to surrender to trial. Ghana has been tested before. We did not surrender.
We will not surrender now,” the President said.
“And so, with gratitude for how far we have come and with the resolve for the work ahead, I say, Mr. Speaker, the state of our nation is resilient, the state of our nation is renewing, and our nation is firmly in the hands of its people.
“Our nation is on the brink of takeoff, and so ladies and gentlemen, passengers, fasten your seatbelts.”
The President said the ultimate responsibility for the direction of this nation rests with the office that he holds and that he would never shirk that duty.
He, however, said nation building was not merely a question of who provides the strategic direction and who bears the final responsibility.
He said it was a long chain of efforts that carried intent into reality from policy conception to laws enacted to resources mobilized to services delivered to value created on farms, in workshops, in classrooms, in markets, and in enterprises across their land.
He said it was in the countless acts of competence, integrity, and industry by citizens of every recalling whose work turns national purpose into lived reality.
“Mr Speaker, while buck may stop with me, the work of nation building goes beyond that, through the labour, enterprise and civic spirit of millions of Ghanaians whose daily efforts give policy life,” the President said.
“Mr Speaker, I will continue to carry the weight of my final accountability. And I ask in equal measure that our citizens bring their full measure of energy, skills, and patriotism to the common task of advancing our country. That is how nations are built. That is how economies grow.
“No policy can substitute for civic duty. No programme can replace the quiet discipline with which millions of Ghanaians sustain their families, serve their communities, and carry this republic forward each day.”
“Repeatedly throughout our history, Ghanaians have chosen steadiness over despair, cooperation over division, and purpose over cynicism. That is the deeper strength on which our future rests,” the President said.
“We’ve faced thirsty moments before and we have overcome them. We’ve gone through periods of economic strains, transitions that have demanded much from our citizens and our public servants alike.”
The President said the Republic of Ghana belongs equally to the farmer, the trader, the teacher, the nurse, the artisan, the trainer, and the young citizen, and the elderly.
“Each of these people has a stake in our nation and each one has a duty. Each has a claim on the future we are shaping together.” The President said.
