The immediate past Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, emphasized Ghana’s quicker-than-expected economic recovery and urged the Mahama administration to sustain the progress rather than reverse it for political reasons.
He stressed that preserving these economic gains would help ease the hardships faced by Ghanaians.
Dr. Amin Adam further noted that despite debt restructuring challenges, Ghana successfully achieved macroeconomic stability, a critical foundation for growth.
Speaking in an interview with Joy FM he said, “If you look at the data from 2022 to 2023 and then 2024, you will see that the turnaround was quick. The recovery was faster than anticipated by the World Bank, IMF, and many economic analysts, even in Ghana.
“We were getting stability, macro stability, which is a condition for economic growth. And even after doing a debt restructuring, where countries that have done restructuring will record negative growth, we were recording an average of about 6.4% last year.
“It just shows that the economy was turning to positive levels, which, when sustained, could really reduce the suffering and economic hardship faced by the people. If you come in to do politics as usual, you lose the point and you are not really able to sustain those gains. And this is what I’ve seen President Mahama doing.”
He emphasized that the economic challenges were primarily driven by external factors rather than domestic mismanagement. He acknowledged the significant role the economy played in the political discourse, attributing it to global trends rather than issues unique to Ghana.
Citing similar experiences in other countries, he highlighted how most incumbents who faced elections during that period struggled politically. Despite the challenges, he noted that Ghana had made impressive progress within a 12-month timeframe.
“I do not disagree that the economy was the major issue on the ballot because we all knew that the economy was difficult.
“And as I explained, it wasn’t only the Ghanaian economy. Most incumbents across the world who went through elections around the same time lost, so it wasn’t peculiar to Ghana. The economy really dominated the political debate.
“Our view is that these factors that led to our economic difficulties were not generally domestic-induced. Many other countries were facing the same problem, but we had done well within 12 months.”
I’ll refer ORAL findings to investigative agencies – Mahama
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