Economist, Prof. Patrick Asuming has rated the first year of the Mahama administration as positive, saying the government came into office with a clear plan and has succeeded in changing the overall mood of the country.
Speaking on the performance of the government on Citi FM’s The Big Issue on Saturday January 10, Prof. Asuming said it was evident from the early weeks of the administration that there was a well-defined strategy guiding its actions.
According to him, even for those who may not agree with all the government’s policies, it was clear that the President knew what he wanted to do and moved quickly to implement his agenda.
“I think you have to say the first year of the administration has gone well. Right from the opening weeks, you got the sense that there was a clear plan on what the strategy is and what they want to do, and the President wasted no time in doing it,” he said.
Prof Asuming noted that one of the key achievements of the administration has been its ability to restore confidence and shift public sentiment after years of economic difficulty.
He recalled that from 2022 through to the end of 2024, the country experienced a prolonged crisis that left the economy largely stagnant and the public discouraged.
He explained that data from the Bank of Ghana’s Consumer and Business Sentiment Surveys showed a clear change in outlook once it became apparent that there would be a change in government.
According to him, sentiment began to improve even before the administration officially took office.
“If you track the Bank of Ghana’s consumer and business sentiment survey, the moment it became obvious that there was going to be a change, you began to see that moods changed and sentiments shifted,” he said.
Prof Asuming added that the administration capitalised on this renewed optimism by taking decisive steps, including honouring some of its campaign pledges in its first budget. He said this helped build trust and carry many Ghanaians along in the early stages of governance.
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Meanwhile, the Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Mohammed, has given the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government a one out of ten rating for its governance performance, citing questionable spending practices.
He made the comments on Channel One TV’s weekend news analysis programme, The Big Issue, on Saturday, January 10.
Haruna Mohammed argued that the government’s claims of a “lean government” are misleading, given the actual cost of operations. He compared the current administration’s expenditure with that of the previous government, highlighting what he described as inconsistencies.
“If I am to rate them based on governance, I will give them one out of ten. You mentioned lean government. We all know that if you study production management, you look at the number of people you use during the work and the cost associated with that. They promised a lean government, they brought the lean numbers. That lean number in terms of compensation will spend GH₵2,711,180,829, I am reading from Appendix 4A of the 2025 Budget, office of Government Machinery and MMDAs expenditure. So approximately 2.7 billion for the lean government. Whiles there has been an accusation and pointing of fingers to the previous government of having a huge number, that previous government was spending GH₵326,907,847.”
He emphasised that the inflated spending under the lean government contradicts the administration’s stated goal of efficiency. According to him, such practices undermine public trust and fail to deliver tangible benefits to ordinary Ghanaians.
“They have not been fair to the good people of Ghana,” he said.
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Interestingly, speaking on the same show, President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe has praised the Mahama government for a disciplined and strong start to managing the economy.
Particularly, on the state of the economy, Mr Cudjoe said the administration began its tenure on a positive note, particularly in the area of fiscal discipline.
He noted that when questions were raised about what the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government had done to justify claims of economic improvement and growth, the response from the Finance Minister was straightforward.
According to Mr Cudjoe, Dr Ato Forson explained that the key difference under the current administration is a renewed commitment to economic discipline.
He said this approach has helped set the tone for the government’s economic policies and programmes.
Mr Cudjoe suggested that discipline in managing public finances and adhering to clear economic priorities has distinguished the current administration from previous regime and contributed to improved confidence in the economy.
“I think this government, with Ato Forson and the president, started on a good note. If I recall when this question was asked—‘What has the NDC done to be talking about this improvement or growth?’—there was a simple answer Ato gave: the difference is economic discipline.”
