NPP rejects Mahama’s comment that economy was ‘criminally handled’

3 News

Mon 24th Feb, 2025 08:00

The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has rejected comments by President John Dramani Mahama that the Akufo-Addo administration ‘criminally handled’ the economy.

President Mahama had said that he discovered that the economy was criminally handled by the previous NPP administration.

He said he couldn’t understand how the previous government “was so reckless” in the handling of the economy. Speaking to organised labour in Accra on Thursday, February 20, he said “Comrades, we know we are your natural allies, we have worked together for many years.

“But we are faced with a reality, our options are very few, we can behave like the ostriches and hide our heads in the sand and let the economy crash but then what effect will it have on Ghanaian households and everybody? So I have told the Finance Minister to cut expenditure as much as he likes, even we ourselves in government, cut as much of our budget as you like because we all must make those sacrifices. A certain distrust for the political class has arisen because it is like when everybody else is tightening their belt, the political class is loosening itself. I want to assure you that we are all going to tighten our belts. and there will be no wasteful expenditure.”

But in a statement on his X page, Mr Ahiagbah said “On President Mahama’s comment that Ghana’s economy has been criminally handled, Ghanaians should note the following: Nothing could be further from the truth. President Mahama inherited an economy where: The gross international reserve stood at about $9 billion, more than the $6.2 billion. That’s equivalent to 4 months of import cover compared with the 3.5 months of import cover President Akufo-Addo inherited from Mahama in 2017.

“Economic growth returned to pre-COVID levels with progressive growth in the first three quarters of 2024, namely 4.8%, 7%, and 7.2%, respectively. Growth for 2024 is projected to be 6.3% higher than the 3.4% President Akufo-Addo inherited from President Mahama in 2017.

“The current account balance improved to a surplus of 2.6% of GDP, compared to the deficit of 6.6% of GDP President Akufo-Addo inherited from President Mahama in 2017. The trade balance was a surplus of $3.85 billion, compared to the $1.8 billion deficit President Akufo-Addo inherited from President Mahama in 2017.”

He added “Ghana achieved macro stability, with all economic indicators trending positive from 2023 until we left office. Inflation dropped from 54.1% in December 2022 to 22.1% in October 2024, a more than 50% drop, and external reserves improved to $9 billion. The debt-to-GDP ratio dropped from 79.2% in September to 74.6% in October 2024, and the depreciation of the Cedi slowed from a high of 30% in 2022 to 19% in 2024, according to the BoG.

“In particular, the external debt restructuring resulted in a $2.86 billion debt relief, of which the government will access about $657 million this fiscal year.

On the back of the stabilizing economy, the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia Administration increased public sector workers’ base pay by:

-30% in 2023;

-23% from January to June 2024;

-25% from July to December 2024.

“Ghana, is this an economy that can be described as having been mishandled? We certainly endured some hard times, especially the difficult but necessary DDEP, owing to the difficulties we faced battling COVID-19 and its aftermath. We lost most Ghanaians during this time, but not because we mismanaged the economy. In time, Ghana will appreciate the difference between the talkers and the doers.”

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