Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam
The Minority in Parliament has taken a swipe at President John Dramani Mahama, accusing him of engaging in economic propaganda rather than presenting a factual and balanced assessment of Ghana’s economic situation.
According to the Minority, the President, on February 27, 2025, delivered a “False State of the Nation” Address to Parliament, which message they described as misleading rhetoric aimed at discrediting the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
At a press conference addressed by the former Finance Minister, Mohammed Amin Adam, the Minority said a responsible approach would have acknowledged the economic difficulties faced in 2022, recognised the significant recovery achieved through the policies of the NPP government with support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He indicated that the remaining challenges require steadfast commitment from the Mahama government.
“One would have appreciated a True State of the Nation that acknowledged challenges in 2022, the remarkable turnaround as a result of the decisive policies of the NPP government, supported by the IMF, and the challenges still remaining that will require steadfastness from the new government,” the former minister said.
The Minority argued that if President Mahama had used his platform to issue a call for unity and national support for Ghana’s rebuilding process, it would have fostered greater political consensus to drive the country’s recovery efforts.
“But what did we get from the President?” Dr. Adam queried, and added, “Rather, he chose to do propaganda, and we can assure you that this propaganda will come to hit and hurt him hard.”
The opposition lawmakers asserted that President Mahama’s approach undermines national cohesion and seeks to gain political mileage at the expense of Ghana’s economic progress.
They maintained that while challenges persist, the previous government made critical strides in stabilising the economy, and any attempt to distort the facts could erode investor confidence.
Economic Performance
The Minority also pushed back against President Mahama’s recent critique of the government’s economic performance, arguing that his claims misrepresent the facts.
During his presentation, President Mahama accused the previous government of ending the year with a headline inflation rate of 23.8%, exceeding the IMF target of 18%.
He asserted that this deviation pointed to poor monetary policy management.
However, the Minority has countered this claim, stating that President Mahama’s analysis fails to acknowledge the broader economic context and progress made in stabilising inflation.
“Isn’t this the typical story of the glass being either ‘half empty or half full?” Dr. Adam queried, and continued, “If one considers the fact that inflation, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, surged to 54% at the end of 2022 but declined sharply to 23% at the end of 2023 within just 12 months, then a headline inflation of 23% should be seen as a significant positive performance.”
The Minority further emphasised that, while inflation has not yet reached the medium-term target, the disinflation process remains on track.
They also underscored that the IMF’s upper inflation band for December 2024 is 22%, suggesting that the current deviation is marginal and does not support Mr. Mahama’s assertion of policy failure.
“This suggests a rather marginal deviation compared to the programme target, contrary to what President Mahama wants us to believe,” the former Finance Minister continued.
“If such a marginal deviation from the disinflation path is considered bad, then the President himself is the worst culprit. Under his last government, an inflation target of 10.1% in 2016 was missed by a significant margin, recording 15.4% at the end of December 2016,” he intimated.
The Minority argued that the previous government had managed inflation more effectively under far more challenging global conditions.
They contended that President Mahama’s attempt to paint a grim picture of the economy does not reflect the real progress achieved in reversing inflationary trends and stabilising the macroeconomic environment.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House