Former President Akufo-Addo grew economy by 6.3% before leaving office - Dr Domfeh

Economist Dr George Domfeh has stated that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo achieved a 6.3 per cent growth in Ghana’s economy before handing over to his successor, President John Dramani Mahama.

Dr Domfeh’s comments were in response to President Mahama’s claim that he inherited a staggering debt and economic instability from the previous administration.

In his State of the Nation Address on Thursday, February 27, 2025, President Mahama described Ghana's economic situation as being in "dire straits" and much worse than previously understood.

Speaking on TV’s current affairs programme, Key Points on Saturday, March 1, Dr Domfeh countered that when Nana Akufo-Addo took office in 2017, the economy was growing at 3.4 per cent under President Mahama. 

However, under Akufo-Addo's leadership, the economy saw a significant improvement, growing to 6.3 per cent.

"The most important economic indicator that we use to measure whether or not an economy is doing well is growth and Nana Akufo-Addo picked the economy growing at 3.4 per cent from John Dramani Mahama. Today as we speak, the economy is growing at 6.3 per cent," he said.

"Today as we speak, the economy is growing at 6.3 per cent. Let me go to 2019. In 2019, the economy grew at 6.5 per cent. The reverse sector performance was one of the best. Agricultural sector did so well Manufacturing and those traditional sectors to check the poor all did very well if you pick the budget and read it. But there was a problem. The problem with 2019 was the debt."

Dr Domfeh also pointed out that in 2016, Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 73.1 per cent, both using 2016 constant prices and 2006 constant prices, attributing this high debt level to the borrowing practices of the NDC government.
 
He also outlined the trajectory of Ghana's economy under former Presidents John Agyekum Kufuor, J.E.A. Mills, and Nana Akufo-Addo, leading up to John Mahama's election in 2020. 

Dr Domfeh explained that poor economic management by previous administrations forced Akufo-Addo’s government to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for recovery.

Read Dr Domfeh’s comments below.

The most important economic indicator that we use to measure whether or not an economy is doing well is growth and Nana Akufo-Addo picked the economy growing at 3.4 per cent from John Dramani Mahama. Today as we speak, the economy is growing at 6.3 per cent. Let me to go 2019. In 2019, the economy grew at 6.5 per cent. The reverse sector performance was one of the best. Agricultural sector did so well Manufacturing and those traditional sectors to check the poor all did very well if you pick the budget and read it. But there was a problem. 

The problem with 2019 was the debt. Indeed, when Nana Akufo-Addo was given the mantle of leadership, our debt to GDP ratio was 73.1 per cent if you use the 2016 constant prices as well as the 2006 constant prices. President Kuffuor inherited it at 182 per cent debt GDP ratio and left it at 32 per cent for President Mills, but the 32 per cent increased to 73.1 per cent at the time Nana Akufo-Addo came to power. so Ghanaian economy has been in debt crisis for three continuous years - that was 2014, 2015 and 2016 and that thing was significant reason we had to recover from IMF. So it wasn't as if something very beautiful happened.