Former Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam has slammed President John Dramani Mahama’s recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), accusing him of misrepresenting Ghana’s economic reality.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament on Monday, Amin Adam argued that the President’s gloomy depiction of the economy ignored the significant progress made under the previous Akufo-Addo administration.
He expressed disappointment over what he called a “propaganda-driven” SONA, insisting that a fair evaluation would reveal a robust economy.
“The President could have presented a genuine account—recognizing the struggles of 2022, the impressive recovery in 2023, and the hurdles still ahead. Instead, he opted for distortion, which will not serve him well,” he remarked.
Defending the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government’s record, Amin Adam stressed key achievements, including slashing inflation from a peak of 54% in 2022 to 23% by the end of 2023.
He noted that this figure was close to the IMF’s upper target of 22% for December 2024, calling the shortfall minor. In contrast, he pointed out Mahama’s failure to meet a 10.1% inflation target in 2016, when it hit 15.4%.
On economic growth, Amin Adam cited a real GDP increase of 6.4% in the first three quarters of 2024—well above the IMF’s 4% projection. He compared this favorably to the 3.4% growth recorded in 2016 under Mahama’s watch.
The former minister also emphasized improvements in Ghana’s trade balance, which posted a 5.9% GDP surplus in 2024, reversing a 2% deficit from 2016. Similarly, the current account balance swung from a 3.1% deficit in 2016 to a 4.2% surplus in 2024.
Addressing concerns about inflation and the cedi’s depreciation, Amin Adam attributed the 2022 spike to global shocks from COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which saw inflation soar to 7% even in advanced economies.
“Ghana’s 54% inflation was a global phenomenon, but we brought it down to 23% in a single year through sound policies,” he said and credited the cedi’s stability in early 2025 to the $8.9 billion in reserves left by the NPP, enabling Bank of Ghana interventions, rather than any new efforts by Mahama’s administration.
Amin Adam also refuted claims of a weak financial sector, despite the GH¢29.9 billion spent on the banking cleanup. He pointed to a 33.8% rise in total banking assets, a 28.8% increase in deposits, and a 46.3% jump in core liquid assets to short-term liabilities in 2024.
The Ghana Stock Exchange’s All Share Index, he added, also surged by 56.2% last year stressing, “A financial sector performing this strongly cannot be labeled as poorly managed,” he asserted.
The former minister urged the Mahama government to build on the NPP’s gains rather than dismiss them.
“From the real sector to the external and financial sectors, Ghana is on a solid footing. That’s the real story of our nation,” he declared.
By Osumanu Al-Hassan/thenewsbulletin24.com