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Zaato rates Mahama administration 60 percent on economy, urges caution in early praise
A Senior Lecturer and political analyst at the University of Ghana, Dr Joshua Jebuntie Zaato, has given President John Dramani Mahama’s administration a 60 percent score for its economic performance, while cautioning against excessive praise in the first year of governance.
Speaking in an analysis of the economy, Dr Zaato explained that although current economic indicators show improvement, such performance is not unusual in the first year of a new administration.
He described the score as a high 60, noting that key indicators such as fuel prices and inflation have improved.
He acknowledged that the economic figures being highlighted by government officials are positive and visible, stressing that he would not deny the progress being recorded.
However, he urged the public to view the gains within a historical context.
According to him, every finance minister in Ghana since the year 2000 has recorded strong performance in their first year in office.
He referenced former finance ministers, including Yaw Osafo Maafo, Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, and Ken Ofori Atta, noting that they all enjoyed praise during their early years.
Dr Zaato recalled how Ken Ofori Atta received widespread admiration after his first budget presentation, with some commentators describing it as impressive and intellectually sound.
He explained that such early optimism is a pattern that has repeated itself over the years.
He warned that early success does not always reflect long-term strength, pointing out that by the third or fourth year, the real performance of finance ministers usually becomes clear.
He advised Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson to ignore praise from what he described as bootlickers and sycophants.
Dr Zaato stressed that economic gains in the first and second years are often not new or extraordinary, as similar trends have occurred under previous administrations.
He cited past examples where strong beginnings later gave way to public dissatisfaction and calls for change.
He added that sustaining economic gains over time is the real challenge, not achieving short-term improvements.
He noted that even the President has recently acknowledged the need to protect early gains and avoid economic decline in later years.
Dr Zaato concluded that while the current economic performance deserves recognition, it should be assessed with patience and caution, as history has shown that long-term results matter more than early success.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Hundreds of street children received a special treat during the Christmas festivities as a result of a collaboration between the management of the La Beach Hotel and the Street Academy in Accra.
It was part of the Hotel’s current arrangement to provide lunch for the children of the Academy every Friday.
Courtesy that partnership, management of the La Beach Hotel feted hundreds of street children housed by the Street Academy, creating a partying moment for the children.
According to officials of the Hotel, the gesture was to let the children feel part of the festivities and not left out.
The children enjoyed delicious meals and snack after which they danced as they enjoyed the moment.
According to the Hotel officials, “the season represents one that every parent gathers their children and shower them with gifts and others to make them happy but sadly, these unfortunate children are left on their own, having no one to care for them.”
“This is an event we intend to make an annual one. Through this, we hope to put some smiles on their faces. It is not proper to leave them on their own.”
The Executive Director of the Academy, Ataa Lartey, expressed gratitude to the management of the hotel, saying that, “this has gone a long way to excite the children and make them feel part of the celebration.”
He said due to the number of children that join around this time of the year, it becomes difficult for the Academy alone to shoulder this responsibility.
“It is not easy to organise such activities alone because it draws a lot of children, that is, those in the Academy and their friends that follow them but with such cooperate supports, we are able to bring them together to share in moments like this,” he told The Spectator.
By Spectator Reporter
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A 30-year-old surrogate mother has delivered a set of quadruplets at The Walking Egg Medical and Fertility Centre at Pokuase in Accra, in a rare surrogacy success that has brought renewed attention to assisted reproductive care in Ghana.
The babies-two boys and two girls- were delivered through a caesarean section in the early hours of Tuesday at 36 weeks and weighed an average 2.5 kilograms each, a weight doctors say was healthy for a multiple pregnancy.
IUI stands for Intrauterine Insemination, a common fertility treatment where healthy sperm are collected, ‘washed’ and concentrated in a lab, and then directly inserted into a woman’s uterus around ovulation using a thin catheter to help sperm reach the egg for fertilisation, often used for unexplained infertility, cervical issues, or mild male factor infertility, and is less invasive than IVF.
Speaking to The Spectator after the surgery, the Medical Director of the Centre, Dr Nana Yaw Osei, said the pregnancy was achieved through Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) and was not planned to result in multiple births.
“With IUI, you introduce prepared sperm into the uterus and have no control over how many eggs fertilized.”
“Unlike IVF, where embryos are formed outside the body and the number transferred can be controlled, this outcome was left entirely to nature,” Dr Osei explained.
He said unlike IVF which could result in multiple babies, this is “possibly the first IUI leading to quadruplets in Ghana.”
He revealed that the surrogacy arrangement was necessary because the intended mother had lost her uterus during surgery to remove fibroids, making it medically impossible for her to carry a pregnancy.
“She had no womb of her own, through no fault of hers,” Dr Osei said, adding that “Surrogacy was the only option available for her to have a biological child.”
When scans later showed that the surrogate was carrying four fetuses, the medical team considered fetal reduction, a procedure sometimes used to reduce risks in multiple pregnancies. However, the option was rejected.
“As a strong Christian, fetal reduction is abortion to me,” Dr Osei said. “After discussions with the intended parents and the surrogate, we all agreed to continue with the pregnancy.”
Despite concerns commonly associated with multiple pregnancies, Dr Osei noted that the surrogate experienced no major complications, and the delivery was smooth. Paediatric assessments conducted after birth confirmed that all four babies are healthy.
Dr Osei again indicated that surrogacy, though still widely misunderstood, is recognised under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 2020 (Act 1027).
He urged the public to engage the subject with greater understanding.
“Surrogacy is not about convenience,” he said. “It is about restoring hope to people who have lost the ability to carry a child.”
Describing the moment of delivery, he added, “I was in tears in the theatre. It reminded me why I chose this profession.”
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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