Former Finance Minister Dr Mohammed Amin Adam has criticised President John Mahama’s decision to establish a planning committee for a National Economic Dialogue (NED).

The Karaga MP described it as a misplaced priority designed to mask the President’s lack of a coherent economic strategy.

In an interaction with journalists on Monday, argued that the proposed dialogue is unnecessary and merely a tactic to distract from what he called “baseless claims” by the President about inheriting a struggling economy.

“The President doesn’t need a dialogue to understand the context of the Ghanaian economy,” Dr. Amin Adam stated.

“At best, this dialogue is an attempt to conceal the President’s lack of an economic plan and to whitewash his unfounded assertions about inheriting a bad economy.”

According to him, Ghana’s current economic performance does not warrant such an initiative, as key indicators reflect a recovery trajectory.

Citing recent data, he highlighted international reserves of $9 billion as of December 2024, providing four months of import cover - exceeding the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) three-month benchmark.

He also pointed to an average GDP growth rate of 6.4%, surpluses in both the trade balance and current account, and reduced fiscal deficits recorded in 2024.

“These figures demonstrate that the fundamentals of the economy are strong, and we are in a phase of accelerated recovery,” he stated.

Dr. Amin Adam further criticised the timing and intent of the dialogue, arguing that President Mahama should have familiarized himself with the economy’s state before making campaign promises.

He also questioned the dialogue’s relevance, citing the failure of a similar initiative under Mahama’s administration.

“This is not the first time the NDC government has organized a National Economic Dialogue,” he recalled.

“They did the same in 2014 after the 2012 elections. What became of it? They failed to implement the recommendations and mismanaged the economy, culminating in an IMF programme they couldn’t complete before leaving office in 2016.”

He called on Ghanaians to hold President Mahama accountable for his campaign promises and assured that Parliament would rigorously scrutinize the government’s policies during the presentation of the 2025 Budget Statement.

“This dialogue is nothing but a diversion,” Dr. Amin Adam concluded.

“The Ghanaian people deserve real leadership and practical solutions—not an attempt to shift responsibility to a committee whose recommendations may never be implemented.”