Dr. Amin Adam criticises President Mahama’s National Economic Dialogue proposal

Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has strongly criticised President John Dramani Mahama’s decision to establish a planning committee for a National Economic Dialogue.

He described the move as a misplaced priority, aimed at distracting from what he sees as the President’s failure to present a coherent economic strategy for Ghana.

In response to the announcement made on Sunday, January 26, 2025, Dr. Amin Adam argued that the proposed dialogue was unnecessary and served as a diversionary tactic to gloss over what he called “numerous non-existent claims” made by the President regarding the state of the economy when he assumed office.

“The President doesn’t need a dialogue to understand the context of the Ghanaian economy. At the very least, this dialogue is an attempt to cover up the President’s lack of an economic plan and to whitewash his unfounded claims about inheriting a failing economy,” Dr. Amin Adam told the media in Accra.

He asserted that the current economic situation in Ghana does not justify such an initiative, pointing to key economic indicators that suggest a recovery and growth.

The Karaga MP highlighted international reserves of $9 billion as of December 2024, which cover four months of imports; one month beyond the IMF’s three-month target.

He also pointed to a 6.4% average GDP growth rate, surpluses in both the trade balance and current account, and reduced fiscal deficits recorded in 2024.

“These figures clearly show that the fundamentals of the economy are strong, and we are in a phase of accelerated recovery,” he remarked.

Dr. Amin Adam further criticised President Mahama’s approach, questioning why such a dialogue was necessary after the President’s campaign promises.

He expressed skepticism about the relevance of the initiative, drawing comparisons to a similar dialogue held by the NDC government in 2014, following their 2012 election victory.

He noted that the previous dialogue’s recommendations were never implemented, and mismanagement led to an IMF programme that the government could not complete by the end of 2016.

“Why hold another National Economic Dialogue when the previous one yielded no results?. This is merely a diversion from the President’s failure to deliver on campaign promises,” he opined.

“This dialogue is a distraction. The Ghanaian people deserve real leadership and actionable solutions, not another attempt to shift responsibility to a committee whose recommendations may never be implemented,” Dr. Amin Adam pointed out.

The former Finance Minister urged Ghanaians to hold President Mahama accountable for his pledges.

He assured that Parliament, as the people’s representative, would scrutinize the President’s commitments when the 2025 Budget Statement is presented.