President John Dramani Mahama has encouraged Ghanaians to remain hopeful, despite the numerous challenges that have bedeviled his government in 2014.

Speaking in his New Year message on Ghana Television on December 31, he said his government is open to ideas as he looks for solutions to tackle the problems facing Ghana.

The oil-producing country is grappling with erratic power supply as a result of gas shortfall and low level of water in the Akosombo Dam coupled with other technical hurdles, an ailing economy that has forced the ruling National Democratic Congress government to fall on the International Monetary Fund for bailout as well as labour agitations.

In spite of the impediments ahead, President Mahama is assuring Ghanaians that no “challenge is insurmountable” as we usher in a New Year.

“The New Year before us holds a wide expanse of possibilities. Let us not enter 2015 with any cynicism or sense of limitation. Let us choose to fill the days ahead of us with hope and not despair,” President Mahama said in his six-minute message.

“When we look ahead let us see all that we can achieve and let us work individually and collectively in the interest of progress. We can turn that vision into a reality, and I know that we can do it.”

He added: “We will not always agree on how we should meet that goal, but it is through the healthy exchange of ideas that we are often able to establish our common ground.”