President John Dramani Mahama has informed Parliament that the state of the nation is not good.
According to him, almost all the sectors of the economy are facing challenges and must, therefore, be resuscitated.
The president stated this when he appeared before Parliament yesterday to deliver the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in accordance with Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution.
“I am sad to report that the state of our nation is not good. Our economy is in crisis and our people are suffering unprecedented hardships,” he stated.
ISSUES
The president who was addressing a chamber that had virtually been taken over by the ruling party said he had not come to lament about the issues, but curiously went ahead to list the problems facing the economy.
The President indicated that the inflation target of 18% by the end of 2024, which the previous government set could not be achieved as the actual rate was 23.8%, with the Ghana cedi nose-diving and losing 19% of its value against the dollar in 2024.
“In addition to the public debt, which amounts to a staggering GH¢721 billion, several state-owned enterprises are also in debt, including ECG, which owes GH¢68 billion,” the president announced.
He further noted that the Ghana Cocoa Board is also highly indebted to the tune of GH¢32.5 billion, of which GH¢9.7 billion is due to be paid at the end of September 2025.
On the energy sector, President Mahama said it faces significant financing challenges primarily due to collection and system losses, non-compliance with the Cash Waterfall Mechanism and legacy debts.
He intimated that the financing shortfall has risen considerably to GH¢34 billion for 2025.
The financial sector, he asserted, continues to struggle despite the previous government reportedly spending GH¢29.9 billion on the financial sector clean-up exercise to date.
He mentioned the non-completion of the Agenda 111 project, the poor management of the Free Senior High School policy and the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), describing it as a knee-jerk initiative.
He noted that there are 55 stalled projects due to the default of debt and subsequent restructuring, with a total amount of US$ 2.95 billion not disbursed, adding that the stalling of these projects is expected to result in a cost overrun of about GH¢15 billion.
WAY FORWARD
Elaborating on ways to solve the challenges, he promised that “I, John Dramani Mahama, will fix the economic crisis confronting our country and reset it on a path of growth and prosperity.”
On what his administration would do to rescue the economy, President Mahama rehashed promises in the 2024 manifesto of his party, the National Democratic Congress.
First, he reiterated that his government will host a National Economic Dialogue on March 3rd and 4th to have a national consensus on how to move the economy forward.
He remarked that his administration had to swiftly mobilise resources to secure emergency fuel supplies, to ensure that electricity generation continues despite the difficult circumstances.
He continued that his government had commenced revitalisation of the upstream petroleum sector by creating a business-friendly and congenial environment for our partners and other prospective investors.
To address rising food inflation, the president said the government was implementing several well-considered policies to grow the agricultural sector, including agro-processing.
He mentioned that the Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA) will modernise agriculture, enhance agribusiness, ensure food security, lower food inflation, boost exports, and create sustainable jobs.
“The NkokoNkitinkiti Project will cover fifty-five thousand (55,000) households producing eggs and fresh poultry for the market and help reduce the $300 million we spend on importing chicken annually,” he revealed.
The President stated that as part of the Operation Recover All Loot policy, investigative bodies have been directed to bring the culprits of the National Service ghost names scandal to justice and that such brazen theft of public funds must be stopped and punished.
“We will introduce short military training as part of our national service scheme. This will instill a sense of fitness and discipline into our youth,” he added.
On job creation, the president noted that the government would roll out the Adwumawura Programme, an initiative to create, track, and mentor businesses annually, with a special focus on young people.
He explained that for the first phase, the top 2,000 implementable business proposals will be supported with business development training, mentorship, access to startup capital, market, and networking to operationalise their innovations and business ideas.
Further, the government will facilitate training for young people in the ‘okada’ business in areas such as road safety regulations, financial literacy, and digital skills. He said the government will introduce electric motorcycles on a hire purchase scheme to eliminate the use of petrol and make the business more profitable.
