Residents of Sunyani who are from different backgrounds have expressed varied opinions on their expectations after the inauguration of Prof John Evans Atta Mills as the Third President of the Fourth Republic at the Independence Square in Accra.
Most of the people interviewed, who watched the inaugural ceremony on television, while others listened via radio, said they expected President Mills to unite the country, continue with the good policies and programmes of the outgoing government and not to pursue vengeance, which could further polarised the country.
They also pledged to throw their support behind President Mills to deliver on his promises and also described his inaugural address as reconciliatory.
Mr Frank Opoku Adjapong, a Sunyani-based businessman and Managing Director of Interbergamo congratulated Prof. Mills on his perseverance till his inauguration as President.
He stated that once Ghanaians had accepted him as their President, he should do his best to unite the country since the nation had been divided on ethnic and tribal lines during the electioneering, which did not augur well for the development of the country.
“ I expect the President to close the gap of ethnicity in the country as one of his priorities to enable Ghanaians see themselves as one people with a common destiny”, he said.
Mr Adjapong also urged President Mills to also prove his critics wrong by being his own man during his tenure in office and not to allow his party’s bigwigs to dictate the pace for him to pursue their personal and parochial interests.
He described the inaugural address by President Mills as reconciliatory, especially when he used the electioneering slogan of the NPP that says "We are moving forward" in Akan.
Mr Paa Kwesi Ansah, also a Sunyani-based businessman, for his part, said that Ghanaians had spoken that they wanted a change and, therefore, they had voted to elect Prof. Mills to be the next President, whose campaign message dwelt on change.
He therefore called on President Mills to listen to the broad masses who voted for him and bring to fruition all his campaign promises of making Ghana a better place.
Mr Ansah also appealed to the President not to see the opposing parties as his enemies, but to constantly engage them to bring about the needed change and the unity that the country was yearning for.
He urged Prof. Mills to work assiduously and help dispel the impressions held by people that he was not his own man, by discharging his duties as the number one citizen of the country without fear or favour.
He commended the EC and the security agencies for ensuring a peaceful, free and fair elections.
He, however, used the opportunity to wish Prof. Mills, his wife and the family a Happy New Year.
Paa Kwesi Larry Moses, the Regional Correspondent of TV Africa, for his part, congratulated Prof. Mills for his bravery in standing for elections three- conservative times, until his victory.
He, however, called on the in-coming administration to look into the affairs of the outgoing one to let Ghanaians know exactly what they did in office, saying if they did well, then they should be congratulated, if not, Ghanaians should be made to know.
Madam Agnes Kyeremeh, a trader at the Sunyani Central Market, also congratulated President Mills and called on him to champion the welfare of the Ghanaian woman to help eradicate poverty as promised.
She appealed to the incoming administration not to embark on political witch-hunting but to focus on the issues that they promised to tackle to make Ghana a better place.
Mr Kwame Ansu Gyeabour, a farmer, for on his part, urged President Mills to also work hard to unite the country as well as bring to fruition the campaign promise of modernising agriculture and helping the Ghanaian farmer.
He also commended the security agencies and the EC for a good job done.
Jonathan Boateng, a student, called on President Mills to continue with the good policies and programmes of the outgoing administration such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), among others.
He also appealed to the President to focus on the development of the youth of the country, since they were the future leaders of the country.
Mr David Agbezuge, a Cameraman with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) in Sunyani, commended Ghanaians for voting based on issues and not on insults and acrimony.
He also commended Ghanaians for their views and understanding and wished the entire nation a Happy New Year.
Mr Agbezuge also congratulated Prof. Mills on his ascension to the high office of the land and expressed the hope that he would deliver.
Meanwhile, supporters and sympathisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who could not travell to Accra to witness the ceremony ,converged at the forecourt of the party’s regional office to watch the proceedings from a projector mounted under canopies.
Some of them in an interview congratulated Prof. Mills and Mr. John Dramani Mahama for their election as the President and Vice respectively and wished them well during their tenure of office.
They said with their experience in government and in opposition they would surely deliver the goods.
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