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President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday, January 5, delivered his last State of the Nation Address on the floor of Parliament.

The purpose of the State of Nation address as stipulated in the constitution is to let the people of Ghana know where the country stands, as the baton of leadership pass from one leader to another, where the country was in so far as nation building was concerned and how the country was faring as compared to other nations in Africa and the world.

Delivering his speech to the nation, President John Mahama touted his administration's achievements, stressing that Ghana's economy has made massive strides and become the 2nd largest economy in West Africa.

His Excellency further noted that under his administration, the national electrification system and energy sector have been streamlined across various communities nationwide, ensuring that the country's energy issues are resolved.

He said, "Mr. Speaker, access to power under my administration has continued to increase. Ghana has one of the highest access to electricity estimated to be above 80% currently. Additional pending electrification programmes like the China Water Company programme...will bring even more communities onto the national grid.

President Mahama also stated that despite the seemingly bleak economy his government inherited "that was running a high deficit with increasing inflation and interest rates. It was also characterized by a rapidly depreciating currency. This unstable micro-economic environment created an unfavorable investment environment both for indigenous and foreign capital.

"Our forum at Senchi was an attempt to forge a consensus for a homegrown fiscal consolidation programme. Mr. Speaker, the Senchi outcome eventually became the basis for the IMF extended credit facility that we're implementing. The ECF programme, as it's called, has resulted in an improved micro-environment which has seen a steady decline in inflation and interest rates. A new public debt management strategy is also seen a steady decline in the public sector debt estimated to have dropped from nearly 75% to below 65% currently."

"Ghana's economy is still the 2nd largest in West Africa with a GDP of almost 39 billion dollars. Ghana has also moved up 13 places in the ease of doing business index and is currently considered number one on the World Bank index for West Africa," he stressed.

President John Mahama's dispensation will end on Saturday after the President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo is sworn-in as Head of the fourth Republic of Ghana.