A collaborative partnership of mutual respect among the government, civil society organisations, labour unions, the private sector and key stakeholders can help Ghana out of her current economic challenges, former President John Mahama has said.

At an engagement with CSOs in Accra on Tuesday, 22 November 2022, Mr Mahama said: “I daresay that together, we are in a better place to help our country out of its current socio-economic predicament”.

“What is required is a partnership, collaboration, mutual respect and an understanding that governance and efforts at meeting the needs of the ordinary Ghanaian are a shared responsibility between particularly, government, civil society, the private sector, labour and other key stakeholders”, he noted.

Mr Mahama lauded CSOs for transitioning from a fighting posture to now being conversational.

“There is, currently, a shift away from aggressive confrontations to constructive, civil conversations”, Mr Mahama observed, pointing out: “Normally, the engagements were confrontational with the government but now, it is more of a civil conversation, and they have also enhanced their relevance with new capacities in terms of research and data analysis, thereby serving as storehouses for alternative policy ideas”.

A few days ahead of his meeting with the CSOs, Mr Mahama had urged Ghanaians to pray for his return to save the country from the current hardships.

He said the hard economic times are now being reflected by the dwindling offerings in the church, and urged Christians to pray for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and him to “rescue” Ghana from the current “suffering”.

At the 175th-anniversary thanksgiving service of the E.P Church in Ho, Volta Region, Mr Mahama urged Christians to be generous with the little they have since times are hard.

“We must always spread Christian love, especially in this time, when money doesn’t like noise”, he told the church, stressing: “Especially, at this time when we all agree that times are hard”.

“This is the time we must show our Christian charity by loving our neighbours as ourselves”, Mr Mahama urged.

“And, so, whatever little you have to share, you should share with your neighbour”, he told Christians.

Using an appeal for funds event at the church as the litmus test of the economic hardships, Mr Mahama pointed out: “I mean, we could tell the hardship in the system from the appeal for funds”.

“When it was GH¢2,000, madam chair and a few people came and donated. Then it came down to ¢1,000, then to ¢500, then to ¢200 and ¢100”.

“And when it got to the silver collection, ¢1, ¢2, the place was full, it shows that the pocket was not too good”, he observed.

He then told the church, which had on its schedule, a prayer session for Christians in Pakistan: “After we pray for Pakistan, Moderator should also say a special prayer for me and for the NDC so that, in some year that is just coming, luck will smile on us, God will smile on us and give us the power to come and rescue this country from the suffering we are going through”.

Ghana is currently experiencing an economic crisis which President Nana Akufo-Addo has acknowledged, forcing him to address the nation on Sunday, 30 October 2022 about measures being put in place by his administration to fix the problem.