The Minority in Parliament is taking a victory following the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest endorsement of Ghana’s economic performance.

The NPP group says, declaring that the Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) reached on the 4th review of the country’s bailout program “vindicates” their stewardship of the economy prior to leaving office.

In a statement signed by Karaga MP and Ranking Member on the Finance Committee, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, the Minority said the IMF’s positive assessment of Ghana’s macroeconomic outlook proves that claims of economic mismanagement by the current government are unfounded and politically motivated.

“The Staff Level Agreement has confirmed our suspicions that the government manipulated the fiscal data to achieve political objectives,” the statement said.

“This agreement has vindicated the previous NPP government, contrary to the new government’s assertion that the program had been breached and the economy criminally mismanaged.”

According to the IMF, Ghana’s economy outperformed expectations in 2024, growing at 5.7%—well above the revised target of 4%.

The external sector also showed impressive strength, with gross international reserves reaching $8.9 billion, the highest accumulation in recent years. In the financial sector, total assets grew by 33.8%, while deposits rose by 28.8%, and core liquid assets to short-term liabilities increased by 46.3%.

The Ghana Stock Exchange was also cited as a bright spot, with the GSE All Share Index posting 56.2% growth year-on-year by December 2024.

Profitability ratios such as Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA) also saw significant improvement over the period.

“Three important sectors of the economy achieved greater successes — the real sector, the external sector and the financial sector,” the NPP Minority emphasised, insisting these outcomes are a direct result of the policy groundwork laid before the change of government.

The Fund also noted progress toward debt sustainability, with Ghana’s Debt-to-GDP ratio dropping to 61.8% at the end of 2024, down from 82% at the end of 2022, following successful restructuring of both domestic and external debt.

However, the IMF also highlighted weaknesses, particularly in fiscal management and inflation, citing accumulated arrears and discrepancies in data reporting.

The Minority seized this to accuse the current administration of data manipulation, suggesting that even the IMF had altered its methodology to accommodate questionable fiscal reporting.

“Whilst the Minister for Finance in the 2025 Budget announced the primary fiscal deficit to be 3.9% of GDP, the IMF found it to be 3.25%,” the statement noted.

“This is notwithstanding that the IMF itself departed from its original definition of the primary balance to include multi-year payables, creating inconsistencies with earlier reviews.”

The NPP Minority claims this was a deliberate effort to paint a bleaker fiscal picture under their administration, accusing the current government of using “propaganda” to discredit their record.

They further stated that the 4th Review, which covers performance up to December 2024, is entirely the result of NPP policy decisions, not those of the new government, whose Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) was only recently submitted and has yet to be implemented.

“The NDC government can therefore not claim any credit for the Staff Level Agreement and the subsequent approval by the IMF Executive Board,” the Minority said.

Taking a swipe at the Mahama administration’s past performance, the NPP recalled that during a previous IMF engagement in 2016, “President Mahama’s government missed almost all the targets, leading to renegotiation.”

They argue that the current SLA is proof of a disciplined, resilient, and growth-driven economic legacy that the current government inherited.

“We will remain committed to holding the government accountable to ensure that the sustainable path we have achieved in the growth of the economy and debt levels is not compromised,” the statement concluded.