The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has forcefully rejected claims of economic mismanagement following the presentation of the 2025 Budget by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
The party insists that the budget misrepresents key fiscal data to paint a misleading picture of the economy inherited by the new administration.
Former Finance Minister Dr. Amin Adam argued that the government’s handling of fiscal data was not only flawed but also politically motivated.
According to him, the NPP had anticipated such an attempt to manipulate economic figures to justify claims that the previous government left behind a struggling economy.
“You will recall that days before the Budget presentation to Parliament by the Hon. Minister for Finance, Hon. Cassiel Ato Forson, who did the presentation on behalf of His Excellency President Mahama, we hinted at clandestine plans by the Government to manipulate fiscal data to support their baseless claims of inheriting a badly managed economy from the previous NPP Government”
Dr. Amin Adam, Former Finance Minister
He accused the government of deliberately inserting GHS 49.2 billion in expenditure claims without proper verification, inflating the fiscal deficit figures to create the impression that the economy was in worse shape than reality suggested.
Fiscal Credibility Concerns
The NPP has taken issue with the figures presented in the budget, particularly regarding the fiscal deficit and primary balance.
The government announced a fiscal deficit on a commitment basis of 7.6% of GDP and a primary deficit of 3.6% of GDP, figures that the NPP argues do not align with Ghana’s recent economic performance.
“In fact, an economy with such strong revenue performance and expenditure management as we have seen from the data in the budget cannot produce the kind of elevated fiscal outturns the Minister announced; and this should prick every Ghanaian as this 2025 Budget brings our fiscal data into credibility crisis”
Dr. Amin Adam, Former Finance Minister
He emphasized that under the IMF program, fiscal balances were monitored based on commitments recorded in the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).
However the expenditure claims included in the 2025 budget, he argued, were not verified through the appropriate systems and were added to distort the “fiscal outlook.”
IMF Program at Risk
Beyond concerns over the accuracy of the budget figures, the NPP warns that the government’s approach could jeopardize Ghana’s standing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Dr. Amin Adam questioned why the finance minister would claim that Ghana had breached the IMF program targets before the Fund had its next review.
“How can the Minister of Finance publicly wish for his country to derail an IMF program even before the IMF conducts a review?”
Dr. Amin Adam, Former Finance Minister
“Yet the same Minister in this very budget projected foreign financing for this budget for the year to include $720 million from IMF and $600 million from World Bank.”
He warned that if Ghana’s IMF review fails due to what he described as manipulated data, it could lead to severe economic consequences, including the loss of $1.3 billion in funding from the IMF and World Bank.
He also noted that this could reverse gains made under the country’s recent debt restructuring efforts.
Debt Management and Market Confidence
The NPP also took issue with the government’s approach to debt management, accusing it of failing to acknowledge improvements made under the previous administration.
Dr. Amin Adam highlighted Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio had dropped to 61.8% by the end of 2024, lower than the 73% recorded in 2016 under the NDC.
Despite this progress, he argued that the government’s announcement of elevated fiscal deficits had negatively impacted investor confidence.
He pointed to Bloomberg’s report on the day of the budget presentation, which indicated that Ghana’s sovereign bonds were among the worst performers in emerging markets.
“The effects of these unfortunate data manipulations are already hitting our economy,” he said.
He further argued that if the GHS 49.2 billion in questionable expenditure claims were removed from the budget, the overall fiscal deficit would be just 3.4% rather than 7.6%, and the primary balance would show a surplus of 0.6% instead of a 3.1% deficit.
Economic Growth Projections Under Scrutiny
Another major point of contention was the budget’s growth projections. The government forecasted a real GDP growth rate of 4.4% for 2025, which the NPP believes is an attempt to set a lower target in order to claim success later.
“Curiously, with all the promises this 2025 budget seeks to implement, this government is projecting to achieve 4.4% growth. How could a reset economy slow growth following a strong growth of 5.7% by a ‘criminally mismanaged’ economy in the words of the President?”
Dr. Amin Adam, Former Finance Minister
He pointed out that under the previous administration, Ghana’s real GDP growth reached 5.7% in 2024, led by strong performances in industry and services.
He also argued that the government’s new projections failed to reflect the impact of its much-hailed 24-hour economy initiative, as industry growth was expected to average just 5% between 2025 and 2027, lower than the 7.1% recorded in 2024.
External Sector and Fiscal Stability
The NPP also highlighted improvements in Ghana’s external sector under its leadership, particularly in foreign reserves and trade balances.
By the end of 2024, Ghana’s Gross International Reserves stood at $8.9 billion, covering four months of imports, a figure the NPP claims is stronger than what the new government is forecasting for 2025.
Dr. Amin Adam also referenced a recent IMF staff report that praised Ghana’s progress under the Fund-supported program.
He insisted that the foundations laid by the previous government were strong and that the current administration was being disingenuous by portraying the economy as troubled.
“We have laid a solid foundation for this government to operate and so it is very disingenuous for them to create an impression as though we have bequeathed an economy full of problems.”
Call for Transparency and Intervention
In light of these concerns, the NPP is calling on the IMF to scrutinize the 2025 Budget and ensure that economic data is not being manipulated for political purposes.
The party believes that maintaining credibility with international institutions and investors is critical for Ghana’s economic stability.
“We, the Mighty Minority, would like to call on the IMF to speak to this in the spirit of transparency, which is one of the cardinal values of the Fund. This should be done as a matter of urgency before much damage is done to our country’s economy”
Dr. Amin Adam, Former Finance Minister
As the government moves forward with implementing its economic policies, the debate over the credibility of the 2025 Budget is expected to remain a key issue, with the opposition determined to challenge any attempts to distort Ghana’s fiscal outlook.
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