Abena Osei-Asar
(MP, Atiwa East)
27th February 2025
President John Dramani Mahama’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) was expected to set the tone for his administration’s governance agenda. Instead, it was a predictable mix of economic doom-saying, political blame-shifting, and populist promises without a credible funding plan.
In addition to creating a gloomy picture of the economy he has inherited, the President has outlined heavy expansionary fiscal policies that, at best, may be considered populist and unsustainable. It is ironic that, on the one hand, the President describes the economy as being in an intensive care unit (ICU), yet, on the other hand, he is pushing for massive new social intervention programs without indicating how they will be financed.
- ECONOMIC RECOVERY UNDER THE NPP: A BALANCED VIEW IS NECESSARY
The NPP has never shied away from acknowledging the economic challenges that Ghana faced. However, we took decisive and responsible actions to put the economy back on the path of recovery, culminating in the IMF giving the economy a clean bill of health.
The government’s attempt to paint an overly bleak picture of the economy ignores key facts:
- The financial sector is in a much stronger position today than it was at the end of 2016.
Despite the President’s claims that the sector is still struggling, the truth is:
- Depositors’ funds were protected during the financial sector clean-up, preventing the total collapse of the banking industry.
- Total banking sector assets have seen significant growth. For instance, the banking sector’s total assets rose from GHS81.2billion in December 2016 to GH₵367.2 billion in October 2024.
- Private sector credit increased by 28.8% in October 2024, compared to negative 7.5% in 2023, showing strong financial recovery.
- The core liquid assets to short-term liabilities and core liquid assets to total assets ratios have significantly improved, as the latest Summary of Economic and Financial Data (January 2025) from the Bank of Ghana clearly shows.
It seems that the president by his criticism is setting the stage to start recklessly issuing licenses in the manner that led to the not forgotten DKB saga.
- On the so-called ‘scant reserves’ for debt servicing, the President failed to acknowledge the global economic squeeze that affected funding for African economies in recent times. Despite these challenges:
- Gross International Reserves (GIR) improved from US$5.9 billion in December 2023 to US$7.7 billion in October 2024, representing 3.5 months of import cover.
- The cedi remained stable, moving from GH₵12.4 per dollar in December 2023 to GH₵14.50 per dollar in December 2024—a controlled depreciation considering external pressures.
- The NPP administration ensured that Ghana left resources in place for the new government to meet early 2025 debt service obligations, including the GHS6bn paid out to bondholders ;last week, that the president was happy to announce to the house.
- While the president emphasized the US$250m in the sinking fund at the end of 2016, he failed to acknowledge that there was a whopping US$1bn due external debt repayments alone for the NPP to pay in 2017.
- Ghana’s economy was not ‘criminally handled,’ as the President implies. Like many economies worldwide, we faced challenges, but we took responsible measures to address them. The signs of economic recovery were evident before the change in government.
- Real GDP growth averaged at 6.3% in 2024(Q1 – Q3) led by Industry with a growth of 10.4%
- A positive primary balance of 0.4% (Nov. 2024) as against a negative primary balance -1.4% of GDP in 2016
- Total revenue exceeded its target by 3.3%
while we acknowledge that we are not out of the woods yet, the narrative being pushed by the President is simply not accurate.
- POPULIST EXPANSIONARY POLICIES: WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM?
For an economy supposedly in dire straits, one would have expected cautious, responsible economic planning. Instead, the President outlined a series of new social intervention programs, which raise serious concerns about fiscal sustainability.
Among these are:
- The Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA)
- The Feed Ghana Programme
- The Poultry Farm-to-Table Project (nkoko nkitinkiti)
- The Adwumawura Programme
- The One Million Coders Programme
- The Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCare)
These are very expensive programs, and yet the President failed to tell Ghanaians how they will be funded. Given his own pessimistic economic assessment, the expectation would have been for the government to stabilize the economy first before announcing major spending initiatives.
Instead, what we are seeing is a return to the NDC’s traditional model of high public spending with no clear funding strategy—an approach that led Ghana into an IMF bailout in 2015.
A responsible government should focus on:
- Sustaining and improving the growing confidence in the economy before committing to large-scale social programs.
- Ensuring fiscal discipline and efficient resource allocation.
- Strengthening the private sector to drive sustainable job creation, rather than relying on government-led employment schemes.
We ought to reject any economic model that prioritizes short-term political gains over long-term financial stability.
- NATIONAL ECONOMIC DIALOGUE: A SERIOUS ENGAGEMENT OR A POLITICAL WINDOW DRESSING?
In keeping with its over-reliance on committees and dialogues in place of decisive action, the government has called for a National Economic Dialogue. It is, however, greatly doubtful that this was made genuinely and in good faith.
The president is seeking to procure a rubber stamp for his predetermined programs while avoiding responsibility.
More importantly, the President was elected based on a manifesto that ought to have been thoroughly thought through. Instead of resorting to endless committees, commissions, and dialogues, he should get down to implementing the policies he campaigned on. Governance is about leadership and execution, not deferring responsibility through unnecessary consultations.
- CONCLUSION: GHANA NEEDS SERIOUS LEADERSHIP, NOT RHETORIC
This State of the Nation Address was more about looking backward than moving forward. It reflected a government that is more interested in justifying its return than in setting a clear and practical course for Ghana’s future.
Mr. President, Sankofa yenkyi, but a leader who spends too much time looking back will eventually stumble. Ghana needs a leader with vision, not one obsessed with revisiting the past.
We in the minority stand ready to engage constructively on policies that will help Ghana grow, but we will challenge any attempt to misrepresent economic realities and pursue rudderless fiscal policies that jeopardize our future.
Ghana does not need more rhetoric—it needs strong leadership, a vibrant private sector, and policies that empower individuals to thrive.
I will urge all of us to be responsible, and stand for the future of Ghana.
God bless us all.
