The Minority in Parliament has accused the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, of deliberately misleading the public with inaccurate data during the presentation of the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review.
Addressing a press conference in Accra, the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam—flanked by Ranking Member on the Committee on Development and the Economy, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, and Deputy Ranking Member on the Finance Committee, Dr. Gideon Boako—described several of the Minister’s claims as “factually false and politically motivated.”
Dr. Amin Adam criticised the Minister’s assertion that the 2022 economic crisis was largely the result of corruption and reckless spending, describing the statement as “unfortunate and dishonest.”
He argued that Dr. Forson’s attempt to shift blame ignored the global economic context of the time and amounted to “propaganda designed to smear the previous government.”
The Minority also dismissed the Finance Minister’s claim that Ghana had recorded a primary surplus for the first time in history, noting that surpluses were achieved under the NPP administration in 2017, 2018, 2019, and even the first half of 2024.
Dr. Boako further challenged the Minister’s claim of a historic 15.6% reduction in debt accumulation within six months, stating that the figure was neither unprecedented nor accurately represented.
“Ghana’s external debt dropped by GH¢141.8 billion in December 2022 due to cedi appreciation alone—far more than the current figures being trumpeted,” he said.
Dr. Boako attributed much of the recent improvement in the debt-to-GDP ratio to initiatives undertaken by the previous administration, including debt relief agreements and GDP growth driven by earlier policies.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah also refuted the Finance Minister’s reported claim that the cedi had strengthened from GHS17 to GHS10.4 against the US dollar.
“This is simply false,” he stated. “The cedi never traded at GHS17 under the NPP government. At the time of handover, it was around GHS14.70. The Minister’s own document confirms a 42.6% appreciation, which corresponds to a rate closer to GHS14—not 17. This deliberate distortion must be corrected.”
The Minority leaders jointly called on the Finance Minister to show humility and acknowledge the solid economic foundation he inherited.
They argued that credit for recent macroeconomic improvements should be shared with the previous administration, rather than used to “falsely rewrite the narrative.”
“Ghanaians deserve honest and credible leadership, not data manipulation for political survival,” the statement concluded.
Source: Ernest K. Arhinful
