The immediate past Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam Antah, has admitted that the performance of the economy contributed largely to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration’s defeat in the last elections.
“I do not disagree that the economy was the major issue on the ballot because we all knew that the economy was difficult,” he stated.
However, he says it is not only in Ghana that things were difficult with regards to the economy.
He says many governments that went to elections across the globe at the time also lost as a result of the economy which was a global phenomenon.
Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews Thursday, February 06, 2025, the Member of Parliament for Karaga blamed the poor performance of the economy on the external shocks which he says dictated the direction of many economies.
“But as I explained, it wasn’t only the Ghanaian economy. Most incumbents across the world who went through elections around the same time lost, so it wasn’t peculiar to Ghana. The economy really dominated the political debate,” he indicated.
He, however, applauded the previous administration for putting measures in place to put the economy back on a trajectory that was recording what he terms the pre-covid indices.
According to him, the Akufo-Addo administration’s prudent policies translated into solutions that were higher than projected by the World Bank and the IMF.
“If you look at the data from 2022 to 2023 and then 2024, you will see that the turnaround was quick. The recovery was faster than even anticipated by the World Bank, IMF, and many economic analysts, even in Ghana,” he explained.
“We were of the view that once the economy had turned around, the recovery was swift. Conditions were improving. We were getting stability—macro stability—which is a condition for economic growth,” the former Minister added.
He explained further that “even after doing a debt restructuring—where countries that have done restructuring usually record negative growth—we were recording an average of about 6.4% last year.”
Dr. Adam is of the view that the economy was fast recovering from the shocks it underwent, and advised that the current administration sustains it to relieve Ghanaians from the downturn. “It just shows that the economy was turning to positive levels, which, when sustained, could really reduce the suffering and economic hardship faced by the people.”
“The Ghanaian people decided that they wanted a change, and this is why I expect the new government to sustain the gains that we have made so that they translate into tangible benefits for the people,” he said.
He accused President Mahama of doing politics with the state of the economy instead of consolidating what the previous government achieved to make progress.
“But if you come in to do politics as usual, you lose the point, and you are not really able to sustain those gains. And this is what I’ve seen President Mahama doing,” he asserted.
Bawumia, Amin Adam deceiving Ghanaians with claims of economic recovery – Sammy Gyamfi
