The Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has strongly refuted claims by President John Dramani Mahama that the Akufo-Addo administration mismanaged the economy in a reckless and criminal manner.
President Mahama, speaking to organized labour in Accra on Thursday, February 20, expressed shock at what he described as the “criminal handling” of Ghana’s economy by the previous government.
According to him, his administration has uncovered economic mismanagement that he finds difficult to comprehend.
“One thing that is a cardinal principle for us is to tell the truth at all times. We all knew that the economy was in crisis, but some of the things I am discovering myself have been a criminal handling of our economy. Ghana is a crime scene because how a government can be so reckless, I can’t understand it,” President Mahama said.
Acknowledging the tough economic reality, he indicated that his government had limited options but was committed to cutting expenditure to stabilize the economy.
“I have told the Finance Minister to cut expenditure as much as he likes, even we ourselves in government, cut as much of our budget as you like because we all must make those sacrifices,” he added.
In response, Mr. Ahiagbah dismissed these claims as inaccurate, stating in a post on X that Ghana’s economic indicators under the NPP administration showed significant improvement despite global challenges.
He pointed out that when President Akufo-Addo took office in 2017, the country’s gross international reserves stood at $6.2 billion, equivalent to 3.5 months of import cover, whereas by the time the NPP left office, reserves had increased to $9 billion, covering four months of imports.
He further argued that economic growth had rebounded to pre-COVID levels, citing figures from the first three quarters of 2024—4.8%, 7%, and 7.2%, respectively.
The overall growth projection for 2024 stood at 6.3%, higher than the 3.4% recorded when the NPP took over in 2017.
Addressing the trade balance, Mr. Ahiagbah emphasized that the NPP left behind a surplus of $3.85 billion compared to the $1.8 billion deficit it inherited from the Mahama administration in 2017.
Additionally, the current account balance improved to a surplus of 2.6% of GDP, compared to the 6.6% deficit recorded in 2017.
He highlighted key macroeconomic improvements, noting that inflation dropped from 54.1% in December 2022 to 22.1% in October 2024.
The debt-to-GDP ratio declined from 79.2% in September to 74.6% in October 2024, while the cedi’s depreciation slowed from a high of 30% in 2022 to 19% in 2024.
He credited external debt restructuring for securing a $2.86 billion debt relief package, with $657 million available for the 2024 fiscal year.
On public sector remuneration, he outlined salary increases under the NPP government, including a 30% raise in 2023, followed by 23% in the first half of 2024 and 25% from July to December 2024.
Rejecting President Mahama’s assertion, Mr. Ahiagbah insisted that despite challenges, the economy was not mismanaged but rather placed on a path of recovery.
“Ghana, is this an economy that can be described as having been mishandled? We certainly endured some hard times, especially the difficult but necessary DDEP, owing to the difficulties we faced battling COVID-19 and its aftermath. In time, Ghana will appreciate the difference between the talkers and the doers,” he stated.
Below is Richard Ahiagbah X account page
