Former Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has sharply criticized President John Dramani Mahama’s decision to establish a planning committee for a National Economic Dialogue. He described the initiative as a misplaced priority intended to obscure the President’s lack of a coherent economic strategy for Ghana.
Speaking in response to the announcement on Monday, January 27, 2025, Dr. Amin Adam argued that the dialogue was unnecessary and merely a diversionary tactic designed to whitewash what he called Mahama’s “numerous non-existing claims” about inheriting a struggling economy.
“The President doesn’t need a dialogue to understand the context of the Ghanaian economy,” Dr. Amin Adam stated. “At the least, this dialogue is intended to cover up the President’s lack of an economic plan for the country and to whitewash his baseless claims about inheriting a bad economy.”
Dr. Amin Adam highlighted key economic indicators to support his argument, pointing to Ghana’s $9 billion in international reserves as of December 2024, enough to cover four months of imports—one month more than the three-month target set by the IMF.
He also noted an average GDP growth rate of 6.4%, surpluses in both the trade balance and current account, and reduced fiscal deficits recorded in 2024.
“These figures show that the fundamentals of the economy are strong and that we have entered a phase of accelerated recovery,” he remarked.
The former Finance Minister criticized the President’s approach, suggesting that Mr. Mahama should have understood the state of the economy before making campaign promises. He also questioned the relevance of the dialogue, expressing doubts about its outcomes based on past experiences.
“This is not the first time the NDC government has held a National Economic Dialogue,” Dr. Amin Adam said. “They did the same in 2014 after winning the 2012 elections. What became of it? They failed to implement the recommendations and instead mismanaged the economy, leading to an IMF programme which they couldn’t complete by the end of 2016.”
He urged Ghanaians to hold President Mahama accountable for the promises he made during his campaign. Dr. Amin Adam assured that Parliament, as the representative of the people, is ready to scrutinize these promises when the 2025 Budget Statement is presented.
“This dialogue is a diversion,” he said. “The Ghanaian people deserve real leadership and practical solutions, not an attempt to shift responsibility to a committee whose recommendations may never see the light of day,” he concluded.
