Member of Parliament for Manso Nkwanta, Tweneboah Fokuo
Member of Parliament for Manso Nkwanta, Tweneboah Fokuo, has responded to President John Mahama’s criticism of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, refuting claims that it mishandled the economy.
President Mahama recently accused the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration of “criminally mishandling” the economy.
Speaking at the National Tripartite Committee meeting on Thursday, February 20, 2025, he expressed shock at the state of the economy he inherited.
“We all knew the economy was in crisis, but some of the things I am uncovering myself amount to a criminal mishandling of our economy. Ghana is now a crime scene. How can a government be so reckless? I cannot understand,” President Mahama stated.
In response, Tweneboah Fokuo defended the previous administration during an interview on Accra-based Channel 1 TV’s The Big Issue program on February 22, 2025.
He argued that, despite global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the NPP government left behind a stronger economy than Mahama suggests.
“You have an economy that suffered significantly during COVID, rebounded, and still managed to achieve real GDP growth of 4%, which is quite decent,” Citi Newsroom quoted him as saying.
Fokuo further highlighted the government’s fiscal performance, noting a positive balance of payments at the end of the year.
“The NPP administration handed over a strong balance of payments with a surplus of $3.1 billion,” he stated.
Additionally, he pointed to the impressive performance of Ghana’s stock exchange as an indicator of economic health, citing a 56.2% year-on-year growth in the composite index.
“One of the key indicators of a strong economy is its stock exchange. The composite index recorded a 56.2% year-on-year growth. That is a fact. Market capitalization also saw significant improvement,” he noted.
Reacting to the recent 10% wage increase for public sector workers announced by the NDC, Fokuo argued that the Akufo-Addo administration had done more to support workers, having increased wages by 30% in 2023 and 25% in 2024.
He cited these wage increments as evidence of the NPP government’s commitment to economic stability and the welfare of public sector workers.
He also commended former President Akufo-Addo for his dedication to their well-being.
“I commend the ex-president for his commitment to public sector workers, as demonstrated by the salary increments he implemented. He handed over an economy that was fundamentally strong,” Fokuo added.
VKB/MA
