Minority punches holes in mid-year budget figures
The Minority in Parliament has challenged key claims made in the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review, particularly regarding Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves, current account performance, and currency stability.
In a press statement, the group accused the NDC government of attempting to take undue credit for economic gains largely inherited from the previous NPP administration.
“The Minister’s effort to distance current economic outcomes from the previous administration’s groundwork is not only analytically flawed but also institutionally misleading,” Former Finance Minister, Mohammed Amin Adam, said.
The Minority revealed that of the reported US$11.12 billion in international reserves, at least US$8.9 billion was left behind by the NPP government in 2024, calling into question the narrative of recent fiscal success.
They also highlighted discrepancies between Finance Minister Dr. Ato Forson and President Mahama on gold export volumes and revenues, citing this as evidence of a lack of transparency within the newly formed Ghana Goldbod.
“This contradiction requires urgent scrutiny of the operations and reporting practices of the Goldbod,” the statement noted.
On the cedi’s performance, the Minority pushed back against the Finance Minister’s claim that “cedi no apicki”, pointing instead to ongoing foreign exchange shortages and continued interventions by the Bank of Ghana.
“Perhaps the Minister needs reminding: ‘Cedi no apicki, but Abochi get the Dollar,’ as Hon. Isaac Adongo once put it,” they quipped, highlighting the disconnect between official claims and market realities.
The Minority also cited recent IMF concerns, calling for a transparent, rule-based foreign exchange management framework to guide interventions and restore credibility.
Looking forward, the group reaffirmed its commitment to long-term solutions, including boosting domestic production and implementing structural reforms to ease black market pressures and reduce import dependency measures, they say are essential to sustainably stabilising the cedi.