The Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South, George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, has criticized President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for advising the incoming Finance Minister of the Mahama administration not to default on debt repayments.

President Akufo-Addo gave the advice during his final State of the Nation Address (SONA). to Parliament.

Speaking to the media in Parliament after the address, Ricketts-Hagan remarked, "A President and a government that has over-borrowed for the last eight years and defaulted on debts by unilaterally halting external debt payments has no moral authority to lecture President Mahama on debt and defaults."

He emphasized that during President Mahama's first term, Ghana never defaulted on its domestic or external debt servicing. “The country was never downgraded by credit rating agencies for non-payment of debt. Ghana's debt of GHS 120 billion as of December 2016 was sustainable,” he added.

Ricketts-Hagan further criticized President Akufo-Addo for increasing Ghana’s debt stock to GHS 807.8 billion as of September 2024. He accused the government of reckless and wasteful expenditure, which he described as the result of endemic corruption.

Concluding his remarks, the former Deputy Finance Minister said, "Nana Akufo-Addo should give us a break and spare us the 11th-hour lecture on debt management, something he clearly knows nothing about, judging by his record."