Ghana’s political arena is alive with a fiery debate over economic legacy and current performance, with the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) trading accusations over who inherited the worst national balance sheet and who is proving better at fixing it.
The exchange, which played out on a TV discussion program last week, saw NDC Minister for Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, describe the current John Mahama administration as inheriting a “complete shambles” from the previous NPP government, while NPP MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah acknowledged that the new government had “started well” on economic management, albeit with transparency concerns.
Mahama Inherited “Worst Economic Situation in History”
Felix Kwakye Ofosu, MP for Abura Asebu-Kwamankese, laid the blame for the nation’s fiscal woes squarely at the feet of the previous NPP administration. He argued that President Mahama assumed office under the most severe economic conditions Ghana has ever experienced.
“So you can say that President Mahama inherited the worst possible economic situation in Ghana’s history, and that was superintended by the NPP,” Ofosu asserted.
He pointed to the NPP government’s inability to service national debts, leading to unprecedented debt defaults between 2022 and 2023, as clear evidence of fiscal mismanagement.
“The moment a country fails to pay its debts, you know the economy is in complete shambles. In the last 40 years or so, nothing of that sort had happened,” he added.
Beyond the economy, Ofosu highlighted deep-rooted challenges in the energy sector, education, health, and infrastructure, stressing that any fair assessment of the current government’s performance must be contextualised by the scale of neglect it inherited.
“Fair to Say” Government Has Started Well, But Lacks Candour
In a rare cross-aisle acknowledgment, NPP Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, admitted that the current government has made positive strides in its first year of economic management.
“I think it is fair to say that this government has started well on the economic management front,” the former Information Minister stated, acknowledging the importance of recognizing progress where it occurs, particularly regarding currency stability and the potential reduction in the cost of living.
Oppong Nkrumah takes on the approach
However, Oppong Nkrumah quickly pivoted to criticism regarding the methods used to achieve this stability, specifically concerning the cedi’s appreciation.
He raised serious concerns about transparency, accusing government officials of initially denying the use of specific market interventions to stabilize the currency.
“Initially, they were of the view that they should hide that fact… The president also denied it,” Oppong Nkrumah recalled. He argued that the government only admitted to the strategy after being forced to change its approach and introduce a clearer framework.
The Sustainability Question
For the NPP MP, while stability is welcome, the sustainability of the methods remains the crucial question. He suggested that the current administration’s ability to intervene in the market is largely due to the programmes inherited from the NPP government which helped accumulate foreign reserves and improve the balance of payments.
“They are able to do that because they inherited a particular programme that helps with the accumulation of reserves,” he claimed.
As 2026 begins, the political narrative remains divided. The NDC is focused on highlighting the progress made in stabilizing an economy they describe as shattered, while the NPP is focused on questioning the transparency and long-term viability of the current administration’s recovery strategy, setting the stage for continued economic debate in the years to come.
By Adnan Adams Mohammed
