By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The former Minister of Finance under the Akufo-Addo-led government, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has raised concerns about the credibility of the figures contained in the 2025 Budget and Fiscal Policy of the Government of Ghana. The budget was presented to Parliament by the current Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
Speaking at a press conference organized by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus in Parliament at the Job 600 Office Complex on Thursday, March 13, 2025, the former Finance Minister maintained that the fiscal projections outlined in the budget lacked transparency and required thorough scrutiny from the Ghanaian public.
During his budget presentation, Dr. Ato Forson projected a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of at least 4.4% for the 2025 fiscal year. However, the NPP Minority Caucus dismissed this projection, arguing that it falls below the 5.7% growth rate recorded in 2024 under the previous administration.
“Their projection of the fiscal balance for 2025 makes this budget not credible and requires serious scrutiny by the people of Ghana. We, the minority, call on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address 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 stated.
Dr. Amin Adam also criticized the Mahama-led government for failing to acknowledge the improved debt management measures implemented by the NPP administration. He argued that the NPP government had successfully reduced Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio to 61.8% by the end of 2024, creating a more favorable economic environment.
“Already, the government has announced its return to the bond market, yet it has failed to acknowledge the enhanced debt environment created by the previous NPP government, which brought Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio to 61.8% by the end of 2024,” he stated.
Dr. Amin Adam accused the government of manipulating fiscal data to support claims of inheriting a mismanaged economy from the previous NPP administration. He alleged that the government had inserted an additional GHS 49.2 billion in expenditure claims without proper verification.
“Before the budget presentation, we warned of clandestine plans by the government to manipulate fiscal data to support its baseless claims. This strategy has been evident from the President’s State of the Nation Address and the National Economic Dialogue. The 2025 Budget was simply the vehicle to confirm these rehearsed claims by inserting questionable data,” Dr. Amin Adam stated.
He further argued that Ghana’s fiscal deficit on a commitment basis, reported at 7.6% of GDP, and the primary deficit at 3.6% of GDP, were inconsistent with the strong revenue performance and expenditure management data presented in the budget. He insisted that these figures should raise concern among Ghanaians, as they indicate a credibility crisis in the country’s fiscal data.
Dr. Amin Adam highlighted the government’s failure to follow the agreed methodology in computing fiscal balances, particularly concerning the IMF Technical Memorandum. He explained that Ghana’s fiscal framework focuses on central government operations and that expenditure claims must be properly audited before inclusion in the fiscal framework.
“It is curious that the Finance Minister would present a budget using unaudited fiscal data to announce conclusions about the state of the economy. This is an elementary mistake that creates credibility problems for the budget,” he emphasized.
He also pointed out that the methodology agreed upon with the IMF requires that fiscal balances be cumulative from the beginning of the fiscal year and include only verified expenditure claims. However, he argued that the government had included multi-year claims unrelated to statutory funds or energy payments.
“What the government has classified as ‘unreleased claims’ of GHS 49.2 billion does not fit into the agreed IMF methodology. These claims were not reported in GIFMIS, nor are they cumulative from the beginning of the fiscal year. The government must explain how it derived its fiscal balance calculations,” he added.
Dr. Amin Adam concluded by urging the government to uphold fiscal transparency and accountability to maintain the credibility of Ghana’s economic data.
