Former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Stephen Amoah, has refuted claims by President John Dramani Mahama that the Akufo-Addo administration “criminally mishandled” Ghana’s economy, insisting that key economic indicators show significant progress under their leadership.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Thursday, February 20, 2025, Dr Amoah cited data to counter President Mahama’s criticism, arguing that the economy experienced notable improvements across various sectors.
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He pointed out that GDP growth increased from 3.4% in 2016 to 6.3% in 2024, while agriculture expanded from 2.7% to 4.7%. The industry sector also saw growth from 4.3% to 8.9%, with the services sector rising from 2.8% to 5.0%.
“All these important primary macro indicators that are used to determine the state of any country or an economy are performing twice as well as what we met in 2016 while going through one of the most severe economic crises in the world,” Dr Amoah stated.
He further highlighted that during the economic crisis, public sector workers in Ghana continued to receive salaries even while staying at home, whereas the private sector suffered massive layoffs, with about 40,000 jobs lost. He compared Ghana’s situation to countries like the UK and the USA, where inflation surged from around 1% to 11%, questioning the basis of Mahama’s accusations.
“We who have managed these challenges and set the economy on a positive trend are being accused of criminally mishandling it? That statement must be properly interrogated,” he argued.
Dr Amoah challenged the current administration to provide evidence to support Mahama’s claims, urging them to present accurate economic figures in their upcoming budget statement.
“You can’t say this about your country’s economy without giving figures. They are coming to read the budget; they should change the figures and let us see. So, I respectfully and humbly disagree with the president. Maybe he is being misled because I don’t think we ran the economy criminally,” he concluded.
