SONA: The country is not broke; I am handing over a solid economy – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has confidently asserted that his administration has steered the country towards economic recovery despite global challenges.

According to him, Ghana’s economy is not in distress, dismissing claims to the contrary as mere propaganda. He stated that his government is leaving behind a robust economy supported by key indicators, including gross international reserves of nearly 8 billion US dollars.

Delivering his final ‘State of the Nation Address’ on Friday, 3rd December, the President reflected on the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, which also affected Ghana.

He remarked:

Mr Speaker, our economy took a bigger hit from the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing consequences than had been anticipated, and in 2021 and 2022, we were in unaccustomed trouble. Our economy, which in my first term had been widely acknowledged to have performed creditably—marked by the longest period of single-digit inflation, 7% average GDP growth rate, and strong external balances—was on its knees.

The government's difficulties in Parliament, with the slimmest of majorities, gave the impetus to the international rating agencies to trash us on their assumption that we would struggle to get financial policy measures passed through the legislature.

President Akufo-Addo revealed that the government was compelled to seek IMF support to facilitate economic recovery:

We faced the problems we encountered with equanimity, took a deep breath, and decided to apply for an IMF support programme dubbed the Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PCPEG) in the middle of 2023. The implementation of the programme so far has gone well, even as it has been challenging.

We have successfully passed through three successive reviews of programme implementation by the IMF Board, with the most recent review approved on 2nd December 2024, leading to the disbursement of 360 million United States dollars. The funders have, therefore, disbursed a cumulative 1.9 billion United States dollars to date.

The President acknowledged the impact of the debt restructuring programme on citizens but described it as a difficult yet necessary decision to prevent further economic crisis:

We are witnessing the positive outcomes of the painful but necessary exercise. The economy is rebounding strongly, our fiscal position is more stable, and our debt sustainability has significantly improved. These developments have provided a solid foundation for sustained growth and development, ensuring that the sacrifices made by bondholders and other stakeholders will not be in vain but rather the basis of Ghana's economic revival.

Amid jeers from the NDC minority caucus, President Akufo-Addo further stated:

Economic growth has also returned to the pre-COVID trajectory, with impressive growth rates rising from 4.8% in the first quarter of 2024, 7% in the second quarter, and 7.2% in the third quarter. It is projected that this year's growth rate will be 6.3%, significantly higher than the 3.4% my administration inherited in 2017.

The President, therefore, argued that the rigorous measures implemented by his administration had provided relief to Ghanaian households and reduced the overall cost of living.

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