Deputy Finance Minister, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has strongly refuted claims by the immediate past Finance Minister, Mohammed Amin Adam, that Ghana’s recent decline in public debt was due to debt cancellation efforts initiated under his leadership.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament during the conclusion of the debate on the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review, Thomas Nyarko Ampem directly addressed what he described as a misleading suggestion by Hon. Amin Adam.
The former minister had claimed that current Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, should not take credit for the reduction in Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio, arguing that the drop was largely due to debt cancellation negotiations—reportedly worth over US$5 billion—he initiated before leaving office.
But the Deputy Minister firmly rejected that narrative.
“Mr. Speaker, I want to state emphatically that the reduction in Ghana’s public debt level, from GH₵726.7 billion in December 2024 to GH₵613 billion as at the end of June 2025, has nothing to do with any purported debt cancellation,” he clarified.
He explained that the significant GH₵113 billion decline in the debt stock was the direct result of the appreciation of the Ghana Cedi against the US dollar over the period.
“Something that seemed impossible under your tenure,” he added pointedly, directing the remark at Hon. Amin Adam.
This correction by the Deputy Minister highlights ongoing tensions between the current and former managers of the economy, as each side seeks to shape public perception of Ghana’s fiscal recovery ahead of the 2024 general elections.
The appreciation of the Ghana Cedi, which has been touted by the Finance Ministry as the strongest in six decades, is now emerging as a central theme in the debate over who deserves credit for Ghana’s improving debt metrics.
Source: Finance Ministry
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