Forgive us for the current economic crisis – Finance Minister ‘begs’ Ghanaians

Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, the Minister of Finance, has apologised to Ghanaians for the hardships they are experiencing. He said the hardships are due to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) that the government initiated over a year ago.

During a town hall meeting in Accra on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, Dr Amin Adam explained that the DDEP was a requirement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), necessitating its implementation.

“We decided to restructure our debts because it was one of the requirements by the IMF. We started with the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, the DDEP was a very successful programme, achieving 95% participation. And on this note, I would like to appeal to the people of Ghana to forgive us, forgive us.”

“It is never the intention of any government to impose hardships on its people. More so, the NPP government has demonstrated that we want to reduce the burden on the Ghanaian people.”

“It was a necessary, very important decision at the time, that if we had avoided it, our economy would not recover as it has recovered today. The decisions we made, and all the support you gave us during the DDEP have contributed largely to the recovery our economy is seeing today.”

“This is why I want to appeal to you to forgive us. But also to thank you on behalf of the president for the sacrifices, for the efforts that you all have made participating in the DDEP that saved our economy,” the Finance Minister said.

The Minister’s plea for forgiveness comes off the back of the advice Kennedy Agyapong, the NPP MP for Assin Central, gave the government some days ago.

According to the legislator, Ghanaians would not accept his party, the NPP's campaign message if they do not apologise for the hardships under their governance.

“Let’s go out there with humility, apologise to Ghanaians, and admit your mistakes before you can convince anybody to vote for you. If we ignore the hardships Ghanaians are going through, they will never accept what we are saying. You first have to admit that there are hardships, let’s give NPP another chance, and I know we have all learnt our lessons,” he urged.

The ruling party, NPP, has faced increasing scrutiny and criticism over the country’s economic challenges.

The party cites the global COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict as factors that have exacerbated economic difficulties, leading to inflation, unemployment, and general economic hardship for many Ghanaians.