Lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, Director of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has launched a fierce criticism against Finance Minister Dr Mohammed Amin Adam’s assertion that the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) has saved Ghana $8 billion.
Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe described the minister’s statement as “deceptive,” arguing that rather than delivering savings, the DDEP has led to widespread economic suffering, particularly for retirees and bondholders.
According to Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe, the government’s handling of the economy under President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has been marked by corruption and reckless spending.
“Out of unbridled corruption and reckless spending, and among many, you drive the economy to its knees, into 0, to a point where the economy begins to register a debt-to-GDP ratio of 104%. What you ought to demonstrate is candour, what you ought to demonstrate is responsibility and a certain level of remorse.
“But the people who are in charge of governance today, out of arrogance, and sheer decision to gaslight the people. They’ll look you in the face and tell you that they have saved us money. But the truth is they have not saved us anything”.
Lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, NDC Director of Legal Affairs
The NDC legal chief pointed out that through the DDEP, the government has transferred the burden of economic mismanagement onto ordinary citizens, especially pensioners and local bondholders.
“As we speak today, by reason solely of the domestic debt exchange program, pensioner bondholders, and persons who bought government of Ghana bonds have lost GHS 61 billion, and you come here and tell me it’s a saving,”
Lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, NDC Director of Legal Affairs
He questioned the government’s claim, underscoring that before the current administration, Ghana had never been compelled to implement a domestic debt restructuring of this magnitude.
COVID-19 as an Excuse for Economic Woes
Responding to the Finance Minister’s attribution of Ghana’s economic woes to external shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe pointed instead to the government’s significant election-related spending in 2020.
He emphasized that Ghana experienced a budget deficit of 15% for the first time since 1992, attributing this deficit to the ruling party’s “desire to win the 2020 election at all costs.”
According to Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe, this spending spree led to the “dark, bottomless hole” the economy is currently struggling to escape from.
“First of all, you claim that by reason of COVID-19, you had a revenue shortfall of GHS 14 billion. Even let’s say for the sake of argument, it’s true. That same year, you had the IMF giving you a $1,000,000,000 rapid credit facility. You went for another $1,000,000,000, the special drawing rights.
“The World Bank alone gave you $600,000,000; South Korea gave you $83,000,000; and Germany gave you so much money. You went to the Bank of Ghana and borrowed GHS 10,000,000,000 within COVID and within one election cycle. So even if COVID-19 resulted in a revenue shortfall of GHS 14 billion, you net it against the money you made by reason only of COVID-19. You made over GHS 21,000,000,000.”
Lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, NDC Director of Legal Affairs
Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe argued that this funding exceeded the supposed revenue shortfall and accused the administration of financial irresponsibility.
“So COVID was a gain. You were just irresponsible. You were just corrupt,” he added, going as far as to suggest that COVID-19 funding had been misappropriated for personal gain.
Missing Transparency in COVID-19 Funds
Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe further highlighted that when the government sought an IMF bailout post-2020, the IMF required an audit of the COVID-19 funds.
This audit, led by President Akufo-Addo’s appointed Auditor-General, Mr. Johnson Akuamoah, according to Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe revealed that GHS 500 million of COVID-related expenditures had bypassed the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).
Describing this as “theft,” Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe explained, “It’s only a thief that will spend money outside GIFMIS. The system exists to ensure transparency; it’s a mechanism to catch thieves.”
He argued that spending outside of GIFMIS was a deliberate strategy to avoid tracing, particularly as it related to election spending.
“Nepotism, Eurobond Mismanagement, and Irresponsible Borrowing”
Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe also criticized the former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta’s role in extensive Eurobond borrowing, which he argued primarily served to enrich close associates and family members within the government.
“From 2017 to 2021, they borrowed $11 billion of Eurobond; while the Finance Minister was doing this, he was making money for the Akufo-Addo family,” he alleged.
Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe emphasized that during this period, Eurobond borrowing became routine, with the minister orchestrating $2 billion annual loans, driving Ghana’s debt further into unsustainable territory.
He claimed that only the downgrade of Ghana’s credit rating by global agencies in 2022 curtailed this borrowing spree.
Beyond borrowing, the NDC Director of Legal Affairs criticized the extravagant allocations of resources to the Office of Government Machinery.
He provided a breakdown of annual allocations that had escalated from GHS 1.5 billion in 2017 to GHS 3.6 billion in 2019.
These funds, he argued, have largely supported President Akufo-Addo’s “lavish” lifestyle, including private jet rentals costing up to $18,000, at a time when ordinary Ghanaians are grappling with economic hardship.
Wasteful Expenditures Amidst Economic Hardship
Lawyer Edidzi Tamakloe criticized the government’s spending on high-profile yet uncompleted projects, citing examples such as the National Cathedral, for which $58 million has reportedly been allocated.
He also referenced the $2 million Sky Train project and the Agyapa Royalties deal, both of which have, in his view, yielded little to no value for the Ghanaian taxpayer.
“Is this how to protect the public purse?” he asked, noting the contradiction between these expenditures and the administration’s earlier commitments to fiscal discipline.
Forced Compliance and Impoverished Citizens
Concluding his statement, Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe echoed former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo’s description of the DDEP as “a military coup,” suggesting that even military governments had not treated Ghanaian citizens as unfairly.
He painted a sombre picture of the impact on pensioners and bondholders, who, having invested their life savings, now face financial uncertainty. “Pensioners who have saved to buy BP and diabetes drugs have lost all their money, and you sit here and tell Ghanaians it’s a saving?” Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe questioned.
In his final remarks, Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe urged the government to acknowledge the economic pain experienced by citizens, rather than portraying the DDEP as a financial triumph.
He called on the leadership to “own up” to the consequences of their policies and forgo what he described as “deceptive” claims of savings.
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