President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government have recorded strong public approval after just one year in office, according to the 2025 Citizens’ Perception Survey on Governance and Politics conducted by Feedback Africa.
The nationwide survey, presented by Professor Smart-Sarpong, Team Lead for Feedback Africa and Professor of Statistics at the Kumasi Technical University, assessed citizens’ views across 138 districts in 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), offering a broad snapshot of public sentiment on governance performance in 2025.
At the apex of the assessment, President Mahama emerged as the strongest-rated public official, with 74 percent of respondents describing his performance as “very good.” This places the President firmly within the “very good” category on the survey’s grading scale, which rates scores above 70 percent as very good and above 80 percent as excellent.
The overall performance of the NDC government was also rated positively, with about 66 percent of citizens describing government performance in 2025 as good, reflecting strong confidence in the administration’s direction within its first year.
When respondents were asked to assess central government performance, the NDC administration recorded a pass score of 51.6 percent, with citizens highlighting several key areas where government performance was outstanding.
According to Professor Smart-Sarpong, the top contributors to government’s positive rating included:
Effective management of the national currency
Relative stability in prices of goods and services
Improved agriculture and food security
“These areas stood out clearly in the assessment and contributed significantly to the overall positive perception of government performance,” he noted.
On the issue of cost of living, the survey revealed that a clear majority of citizens believe economic pressures have eased compared to the previous year. About 68.8 percent of Ghanaians rated the 2025 cost of living as moderate compared to 2024, while 26 percent described it as high to very high.
“As a researcher, my verdict is to go with the majority,” Professor Smart-Sarpong said. “For 2025, the cost of living has been moderate, and that is the citizens’ verdict.”
He added that the findings provide critical feedback to government, urging authorities to consolidate gains while addressing remaining challenges.
The survey also revealed a performance gap between the President and his appointees, with about a nine-percentage-point difference between President Mahama’s personal approval rating and the overall government score. Professor Smart-Sarpong explained that while the President’s leadership is highly rated, the collective output of appointed officials largely determines government-wide performance.
“This is a baseline assessment,” he stressed. “Next year, we will expand the scope to include CEOs, Members of Parliament, MMDCEs and Regional Ministers, because governance is a shared responsibility.”
Despite identifying areas requiring improvement including industrial development in oil-producing areas and aspects of local government performance, the survey paints a broadly positive picture of governance under President Mahama, particularly given the administration’s relatively short time in office.
“The ultimate goal,” Professor Smart-Sarpong concluded, “is to ensure that Ghana is seen to be developing, both by those entrusted with authority and by the citizens they serve.”
