Mid-Year Budget debate: We’re resetting economy — Majority: Growth stems from NPP-era — Minority

The Majority in Parliament has stated that the government was resetting the country’s economy using homegrown policies, productive spending, and gold-backed reserves instead of debt-fuelled bailouts. 

During the debate on the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review yesterday, the Deputy Majority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Cape Coast South, George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, said for the first time in 70 years, the nation had full control of its gold — a shift he described as transformational.

“Something has happened in this country under President Mahama and the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson. We now own our gold. We’ve added $2.2 billion from gold alone to our reserves,” he said.

Mr Ricketts-Hagan explained that the strategic move had boosted gross reserves to over $11 billion and helped stabilise the Ghana Cedi, which had appreciated by 42 per cent against the US dollar, 32 per cent against the British Pound, and 24 per cent against the Euro.

He further argued that, unlike the previous administration, which relied heavily on Eurobond borrowing, cocoa syndicated loans, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) drawdowns to shore up the economy, the current National Democratic Congress (NDC)-led government was using domestic resources to rebuild.

The Cape Coast South MP slammed the previous government’s Gold-for-Oil programme, calling it a “reckless barter trade” that caused a $2.4 billion financial loss to the state.

“We don’t know who supplied the oil, at what price, or where the rest of the money went,” he added, calling for accountability.

Reforms, spending

Touching on institutional reforms, Mr Ricketts-Hagan said the government had injected over GH¢2 billion into the National Investment Bank (NIB) to restructure it.

He accused the former administration of mismanaging NIB’s assets, including the sale of its Nestlé shares, and of failing to resolve its capital shortfalls despite parliamentary approvals.

The Deputy Majority Leader added that the current administration’s spending was targeted and productive.

“Your kind of spending will never happen again. We will put the money in the productive sector of the economy. We will spend on growth, not waste it. We will not dig a hole and abandon it. We won't choose to fly on an aeroplane to bath in,” he said. 

Minority rebuttal

The Minority MP for Takoradi, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, challenged the government’s claim of driving economic growth through homegrown policies, crediting the previous NPP administration for the gains in agriculture and fisheries that boosted GDP.

He argued that the current growth stemmed from initiatives such as Planting for Food and Jobs Phase II and reforms in the fisheries sector.

On the NIB, he questioned the government’s narrative, citing past support for distressed banks under the New Patriotic Party (NPP), justifying similar interventions for NIB.

He also defended the Gold-for-Oil programme and said the foundation for the country’s gold reserves was laid under the NPP, not the NDC.

Mr Darko-Mensah raised concerns about the structure of the new GoldBod and called for reforms to decentralise licensing and ensure traceability to curb illegal mining.