Former Deputy Finance Minister and Member of Parliament for Atiwa East, Abena Osei-Asare, has strongly criticized President John Dramani Mahama’s 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA), describing it as a blend of economic pessimism, political blame-shifting, and unsustainable populist promises.
In a statement posted on Facebook following the address on Thursday, February 27, 2025, Osei-Asare questioned the credibility of Mahama’s economic outlook and his ability to fund the ambitious social programs outlined in his speech.
According to Osei-Asare, while Mahama painted a bleak picture of Ghana’s economy, he failed to acknowledge the progress made under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government. She pointed out that the financial sector had significantly improved, citing an increase in total banking sector assets from GHS81.2 billion in 2016 to GHS367.2 billion in 2024 and a 28.8% rise in private sector credit in October 2024—a stark contrast to the negative 7.5% recorded in 2023.
She further dismissed Mahama’s concerns about dwindling reserves for debt servicing, highlighting that Gross International Reserves increased from US$5.9 billion in December 2023 to US$7.7 billion in October 2024, while the cedi remained relatively stable despite global economic pressures.
“It is ironic that the President describes the economy as being in an ‘intensive care unit,’ yet he is pushing for massive new social intervention programs without indicating how they will be financed,” she wrote.
Populist policies without a clear funding plan
One of the key issues Osei-Asare raised was the financial feasibility of Mahama’s newly proposed programs, including the Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA), the Feed Ghana Programme, the Poultry Farm-to-Table Project, the One Million Coders Programme, and MahamaCare.
She questioned how these large-scale initiatives would be funded, arguing that Ghana’s fragile economic situation required prudent fiscal management rather than unchecked public spending.
“For an economy supposedly in dire straits, one would have expected cautious, responsible economic planning. Instead, what we are seeing is a return to the NDC’s traditional model of high public spending with no clear funding strategy—an approach that led Ghana into an IMF bailout in 2015,” she added.
Osei-Asare also expressed skepticism about the government’s call for a National Economic Dialogue, suggesting that it was more of a political maneuver than a genuine attempt at inclusive policy-making.
“The President is seeking to procure a rubber stamp for his predetermined programs while avoiding responsibility. Instead of resorting to endless committees and dialogues, he should get down to implementing the policies he campaigned on,” she argued.
Osei-Asare ended her critique by calling for responsible governance, emphasizing the need for fiscal discipline, private sector-driven growth, and policies that empower individuals rather than reliance on government-led employment schemes.
“This State of the Nation Address was more about looking backward than moving forward. A leader who spends too much time looking back will eventually stumble. Ghana needs a leader with vision, not one obsessed with revisiting the past,
” she stated.
Source: 3news.com