By Daniel Bampoe
The Minority in Parliament has punched holes into the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review presented by the Finance Minister, accusing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of misrepresenting economic gains and riding on the achievements of the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
At a press conference on Tuesday, key Minority spokespersons, including former Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam and Kojo Oppong Nkrumah dissected the government’s fiscal claims line by line, arguing that many of the improvements in macroeconomic indicators were results of policy decisions and restructuring efforts undertaken before the NDC assumed office in January 2025.
Foreign Reserves and Exchange Rate
A focal point of the Minority’s critique was the claim by the Finance Minister that Ghana’s international reserves had reached $11.12 billion.
The NDC government touted this figure as a sign of strong forex management.
However, the Minority argued that $8.9 billion of those reserves were inherited from the NPP’s administration, implying the Mahama government had contributed minimally to the reserve buildup.
“What the Minister seeks to do is rewrite economic history,” the Minority’s statement read. “The bulk of these reserves were built under the previous government. The attempt to disassociate today’s gain from yesterday’s effort is both analytically flawed and institutionally damaging.”
They also ridiculed the Minister’s assertion that the cedi was stable, invoking the now-popular phrase, “Cedi no apicki,” or “the cedi is not falling.”
According to the Minority, this is misleading when businesses across the country continue to suffer from persistent dollar shortages.
“Cedi no apicki, but Abochi get the dollar,” the MPs said, borrowing from the words of MP Isaac Adongo to highlight that while official data may show stability, access to foreign currency remains a major challenge on the ground.
Gold Export Figures
The Minority further questioned discrepancies between statements made by President Mahama and the Finance Minister concerning revenues from gold exports under the government’s GoldBod programme.
According to them, the inconsistencies reflect a lack of transparency in Ghana’s gold export regime and warrant urgent scrutiny.
“This apparent contradiction between the President and the Finance Minister calls for proper scrutiny of the GoldBod and its operational framework,” the Minority insisted.
They also cited concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which recently warned Ghana against ad hoc currency interventions. The Minority is now demanding that government adopt a rule-based forex intervention strategy to ensure long-term stability of the cedi.
Fitch Upgrade Misattributed
Turning to Ghana’s recent sovereign credit rating upgrade by Fitch—from “Restricted Default” to “B−”—the Minority welcomed the improved outlook but maintained that it had nothing to do with the current administration.
Rather, they argued, the credit rating improvement was the result of the October 2024 Eurobond restructuring initiated by the NPP government, which saw over $13 billion of Ghana’s external debt restructured and a $5 billion debt cancellation secured.
“Was Dr. Ato Forson the Finance Minister in October 2024?” Dr. Amin Adam asked pointedly, referring to the current Finance Minister and highlighting the temporal inconsistency in the government’s claims.
Fitch had noted in its own report that the upgrade was influenced by Ghana’s successful debt restructuring, reduction in debt service obligations, and macroeconomic reforms—all of which, the Minority claimed, were policies enacted by the Akufo-Addo government in its final years.
Public Debt Reduction
The government’s claim that the public debt-to-GDP ratio had dropped from 61.8% in December 2024 to 43.8% in June 2025 also came under fire.
The Minority demanded clarification on how much of the debt had been physically repaid to justify the dramatic drop.
They accused the government of “propaganda economics” and misleading the public.
“It is no secret that the NPP’s painstaking efforts led to the outright cancellation of $5 billion in debt and an additional $4.7 billion in debt service savings. What then did the NDC government do to claim credit for this?” the Minority queried.
Political Posturing vs. Economic Reality
While the NDC government continues to tout its economic management credentials and trumpet signs of recovery, the Minority insists that Ghanaians must not be misled by what they describe as premature celebration and repackaged achievements.
They warn that economic challenges persist, especially in forex access, gold sector transparency, and debt sustainability, and urge the public to scrutinise claims in the budget with a critical eye.
The Minority reaffirmed its support for long-term structural reforms, including domestic production enhancement and black market suppression, but warned against what they see as a worrying trend of misattribution and political posturing.
“You can’t criticise the meal and still eat it with delight,” one MP quipped. “The NDC cannot attack debt restructuring and at the same time use its results to claim credit.”
