Ghana’s economy is in tatters, says President John Dramani Mahama. The president, who is less than two months into office, says the mess he and his team have uncovered is jaw-dropping and was never anticipated. Admitting that, sitting on the sidelines, he had an idea of the situation at hand; however, after assuming office, he confessed that he wasn’t prepared for the level of economic mess the country found itself in.
Presenting his maiden State of the Nation’s Address to Parliament on Thursday, February 27, 2028, the President empathized with the millions of Ghanaians who are reeling under the impact of the strangled economy.
“The state of our economy is not good. Our economy is in crisis and our people are suffering unprecedented hardships. Our economy is in dire state, and that is putting it mildly,” the president said.
But the second-term president says he is not in office to lament and apportion blame but to roll up his sleeves, get his hands on the wheel and work. That is, despite painting the gloomy picture, Mr. Mahama attempted to inspire hope calling on all citizens to rally behind him as he reset the economy.
He therefore unveiled an ambitious plan to reset the country’s economy with bold measures. The question that begs for an answer is how feasible are these strategies and structural reforms? Can these strategies revive the economy within the next four years? These are the questions this piece seeks to answer based on the strategies announced and the view of experts.
The Economic Reset Agenda
A number of reforms were announced during the President’s speech. Paramount and key among these strategies include fiscal consolidation, prudent debt management, and industrial expansion. These, he says, are the foundation of the economic revival. He further committed to reducing the size of government, eliminating wasteful spending, and implementing homegrown solutions to economic challenges.
He also emphasized restoring macroeconomic stability by negotiating better debt treatment terms, boosting local production to cut imports, and activating a 24-Hour Economy Initiative to increase productivity. Let’s dive into the details;
Debt Management
The country’s current public debt stock, the President says, stands at GHC 721 billion. This has crowded out infrastructure projects and limited the fiscal space of the government.
The administration’s approach to reduce the debt stock and control the rate of accumulation includes prudent debt management, renegotiation with creditors and building buffers in the Sinking Fund to meet maturing obligations.
Industrial Growth: A Game Changer?
One flagship strategy to revive the economy and put it on the right track is an industrialization agenda through what he terms as the Big Push Initiative. This is a US$10 billion infrastructure drive aimed at boosting industrialization and job creation. If well-implemented, this could transform the economy, especially in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and energy.
Agriculture and Food Security
The President announced an Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA) and poultry revitalization projects seeking to reduce food imports, stabilize food prices, and create jobs. There will also be the implementation of a Feed Ghana Programme to increase local food production and reduce prices.
He also announced an AgriNext Programme to support youth participation in agriculture while enhancing mechanization, irrigation, and extension service to farm productivity.
Bold Energy Sector Reforms
A failing energy sector has been a major economic bottleneck, with crippling debts and inefficiencies in power distribution. Mahama’s government aims to reduce technical and commercial losses, enforce a single revenue collection account, and invest in renewable energy. While these strategies are promising, the timeline for implementation remains a concern.
The government, as part of its revival, has pledged to increase natural gas utilization and eliminate crude oil imports for power generation. There will also be the operationalization of a Renewable Energy and Green Transition Fund to drive solar and green energy projects.
Job Creation
With two million unemployed youth, Mahama’s plan to introduce the Adwumawura Programme, a National Apprenticeship Programme, and digital skills training, experts say, are timely. Additionally, the Youth Development Ministry will streamline job creation initiatives.
The administration will also provide electric motorcycles on a hire-purchase scheme to support youth in the transport sector. Expansion of IT and digital skills training through the One Million Coders Programme to prepare youth for tech-driven jobs, Mr. Mahama indicated will play a key role.
Social Intervention & Public Services
The reset agenda in these areas, the President told parliament, he will provide financial buffers for dialysis and cancer treatment under the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCare). He also mentions the implementation of the Free Primary Healthcare Programme to reduce financial barriers to health access.
The Experts’ Judgement
With all these numerous interventions to revive the economy within the next four years, how do they appear in the eyes of the experts?
If you are already convinced these policies are enough to take the economy out of the woods and lead it onto the promise land, just take it easy and manage your expectations. Economist at the University of Ghana Business School Prof. Patrick Asuming admits that these policies outlined, on the face value, appear very good on paper.
To him, most of the things he mentioned are just a rehash of the policies in the NDC manifesto, hence there wasn’t any new proposal.
He tells The High Street Journal that he also finds it very difficult to assess the feasibility of these numerous interventions. Prof. Asuming observed that the President painted a very gloomy picture about the country’s finances but went ahead to list “a thousand and one” policy interventions which require a great deal of funding. The question he asks is “where is the funding going to come from?
“Most of the things that he identified are things that the NDC has put in their manifesto. So, from that point of view, we didn’t get really any new proposals per se. It was just a broad vision, not enough detail, especially the one on the economy,” he told The High Street Journal in an interview.
“Given the state of our finances, it is difficult to evaluate what he is saying without hearing that aspect, because that would tell us the extent to which what he is proposing is feasible. For a president that has said that the state of the economy is even worse than he anticipated and emphasized a lot on the debt situation, I thought that he would probably scale back on some of the programmes, because the question has always been, where is the financing going to come from?,” he quizzed.
He also indicated that these policies were also silent on implementation strategies, an area he says is a major bane on the country’s economic development given our track record in the implementation of policies.
However, Prof. Asuming gave the President the benefit of the doubt. He said since the National Economic Dialogue is days away and will precede the budget presentation, he wants to believe that cogent and specific strategies will be outlined in the budget to give life to these interventions.
Another economist, Dr. Daniel Amateye Anim, also confirms that these initiatives as outlined in the President’s speech looked good on paper. He maintains the policies on the whole are necessary to pull the economy out of the woods.
However, Dr. Anim also raises concerns about implementation. To him, Ghanaian leaders are experts in proffering solutions but always lag behind when it comes to implementation. He explains that very nice economic intervention policies are unfortunately politicised at the implementation stages. He therefore recommends that President John Mahama’s policies must be implemented without politics and with lessons learned from previous experiences.
The economist says if these policies are well structured and properly executed, President Mahama will stand the chance of pulling the economy from the woods under his tenure and create a lasting legacy for himself.
“The initiative looks good on paper, but in terms of implementation, we need to be very deliberate about these policies. We need to take politics out of the equation and realistically ask ourselves, in any instance of the manpower, people with the competence and ability to be able to drive those policies. These are very key and critical. Once he is able to do that, my view respectfully it’s certainly he will be able to leave a lasting legacy as one of the best presidents within the Republic,” Dr. Anim told The High Street Journal in an interview.
The Bottom Line
The experts agree the policies outlined by the president to revive the economy under his tenure are needed. It is a no brainer that the current state of the economy requires fiscal discipline, debt management, energy sector reforms, job creation, infrastructure development, among others.
However, both experts also agree on the poor track record of the country when it comes to the implementation of policies.
It is therefore clear that the government’s success will hinge on policy execution, political stability, private sector collaboration, and citizen engagement. If these factors align, Ghana may witness a historic turnaround. Otherwise, the journey to economic revival could extend beyond Mahama’s tenure.
