President John Dramani Mahama, yesterday, made an overzealous declaration that he would fix the economic crisis confronting the country and reset it on a path of growth and prosperity.
Delivering his first State of the Nation Address (SoNA) sine becoming president of the country, in Parliament, the President asserted that, “Mr. Speaker, today, inspired by the almighty God and propelled by the massive mandate given me by the good people of Ghana, I am moved to make a … purposeful and bold declaration. That, I, John Dramani Mahama, will fix the economic crisis confronting our country and reset it on a path of growth and prosperity.”
For the outset, the returnee president disclosed “I am sad to report that the state of our nation is not good. Our economy is in crisis, and our people are suffering unprecedented hardships.”
As to the real state of the country’s economy, President Mahama announced that, “Mr. Speaker, we will host a National Economic Dialogue on March 3rd and 4th. On March 11th, the Minister for Finance, on my behalf, will present the budget estimates for the financial year to this August House. These two events will allow us to present the real state of Ghana’s economic crisis to the people.”
The president indicated that blame-shifting and lamenting are not his style when confronted with challenges and that he accepts the challenges and is ready to work hard to resolve them.
“I have not come here to lament the state of our country, though there is much to lament. I understand why I was elected with such high voter confidence—to solve their problems.
With your permission, Mr Speaker, and within the constraints of time—I will take the liberty to elaborate on how we intend to address the problems, the president
Read president John Dramani Mahama: It is common knowledge that our economy is in dire straits, which is putting it mildly because, after an initial assessment of the books, we have discovered that our economic problems are much deeper than was publicly known. We have inherited a country that is broken on many fronts. The profundities of the challenges are staggering.
Key amongst the what he described as staggering challenges, according to the president is that “We are saddled with staggering debts and glaring signs of almost deliberate and, in some cases, criminal mismanagement of our resources.”
Excerpts of the State of the Nation’s Address reads: Mr. Speaker, not even the restraints of an IMF programme were enough for the previous economic managers to exercise prudence in managing our finances.
After setting an inflation target of 18% by the end of 2024, the actual rate was 23.8%, significantly exceeding the IMF threshold. The Ghana cedi continued its downward slide, losing 19% of its value against the dollar in 2024. It had already lost 27.8% in value in 2023.
In addition to the public debt, which amounts to a staggering GHS 721 billion, several State-Owned Enterprises are also in debt, including ECG, which owes GHS 68 billion.
Ghana Cocoa Board—the hope of cocoa farmers—is also highly indebted. Its balance sheet indicates a total debt of GHS 32.5 billion, of which GHS 9.7 billion is due to be paid at the end of September 2025.
In the 2023/2024 crop season, COCOBOD could not supply three hundred and thirty-three thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven (333,767) tonnes of cocoa, which it sold at US$ 2,600 per tonne. As a result, the then management of COCOBOD rolled over these contracts into the 2024/2025 cocoa season.
This implies that for every tonne of cocoa delivered this year in fulfilment of the rolled-over contracts, COCOBOD and the Ghanaian farmer would lose US$ 4,000 in revenue.
Mr. Speaker, as I address this honourable house, COCOBOD has supplied 210,000 tonnes out of the rolled-over contract, resulting in a revenue loss of US$ 840 million for both COCOBOD and the Ghanaian farmer.
COCOBOD and the Ghanaian farmer will lose another US$495 million when the Board finishes supplying the remaining rolled-over contracts.
Additionally, cocoa road commitments alone total GHS 21.7 billion, of which only GHS 4.4 billion is included in the total debt of GHS 32.5 billion. This debt has arisen mainly because of the decision in 2019 and 2020 to award road contracts worth over US$1 billion because of the election.
Mr. Speaker, the energy sector faces significant financing challenges primarily due to collection and system losses, non-compliance with the Cash Waterfall Mechanism, and legacy debts.
The financing shortfall has risen considerably to approximately US$2.2 billion or GHS 34 billion for 2025, and urgent measures will be needed to reduce it to sustainable levels and ultimately eliminate it.
The financial sector continues to struggle despite the previous government reportedly spending GHC 29.9 billion on the financial sector clean-up exercise to date.
Nonetheless, President Mahama, assured that “With the transparent and prudent measures we have implemented since taking over the administration of this country, I urge my countrymen and women, business owners, and foreign investors to trust our competence in turning our economic fortunes around.”
