Former Minister of Finance under the Akufo-Addo administration, Mohammed Amin Adam, has responded to President John Dramani Mahama’s criticism of the previous government’s handling of inflation, arguing that the economic outlook should be seen in a more positive light.
Speaking at what he termed the True State of the Nation Address on Monday, March 2024, Amin Adam challenged Mahama’s assertion that the former government’s monetary policies were ineffective, leading to a 23.8% inflation rate at the end of 2024—above the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) target of 18%.
“President Mahama accused the previous government of ending the year with a headline inflation of 23.8% above the IMF target of 18%.
This divergence, the President indicated, showed a poor performance of monetary policy. Isn’t this the typical story of the glass being either ‘half empty or half full?’” Amin Adam questioned.
Read Also: NPP Minority’s Reason for Opting Out Is Unacceptable – Bagbin
He argued that inflation, which had surged to 54% in 2022 due to external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, had dropped significantly to 23% by the end of 2023—a development he described as a “significant positive performance.”
“Of course, not at the medium-term target yet, but the disinflation process is on track,” he emphasized, adding that the IMF had set an upper band of 22% for inflation in December 2024.
“This suggests a rather marginal deviation compared to the programme target, contrary to what President Mahama wants us to believe,” Amin Adam pointed out.
He further argued that if such a deviation was considered poor performance, then Mahama himself was guilty of a worse record during his last tenure in office.
“If such a marginal deviation from the disinflation path is bad, then the President is the worst culprit when his last government deviated from an inflation target of 10.1% in 2016, by recording 15.4% at the end of December 2016,” he stated.
Don’t miss out! Get your daily dose of Entertainment news and more straight to your phone. Join Ghana Street Journal Whatsapp channel now!
