Amin Adam Asks Finance Minister to Account for 24-Hour Economy Before Budget

Dr Mohammed Amin Adam has called on the Minister for Finance to give an account of the government's 24-Hour Economy programme before presenting what the government calls the "New Economy Budget". He made the call in an open letter published by Graphic Online.

The letter, released a day before the 2027 Budget presentation, argues that Ghana's problem is not a lack of economic slogans. Instead, it says the country lacks enough productive jobs, growing businesses and rising real incomes.

"Before unveiling a New Economy, account for the 24-Hour Economy," Dr Amin Adam wrote.

He said the NDC government had promised jobs and expanded production under the 24-Hour Economy. However, he argued that it had not given a convincing, independently verifiable account of the jobs, investment or business changes delivered under that programme.

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Citing a KPMG pre-budget survey, he said 71 percent of respondents named jobs and youth employment as a national priority, while 54 percent pointed to the cost of living.

He acknowledged that inflation had fallen sharply, but said lower inflation did not mean prices had become affordable again. "Indeed, the pocket economy is hurting whilst the paper economy is being celebrated," he wrote.

According to the letter, inflation dropped from a peak of 54.1 percent in December 2022 to 23.8 percent by December 2024, under the previous NPP administration. It fell further to 3.2 percent in March 2026 under the current government. Dr Amin Adam argued that this showed disinflation was already under way before January 2025.

He also pointed to what he described as reversals. He said inflation rose to 5.5 percent by October, and that the cedi had lost about 9.5 percent against the US dollar by September 2026 after gaining ground in 2025.

Quoting Bank of Ghana figures, he said real GDP growth eased from 6.6 percent in the second quarter of 2025 to 6.0 percent in the same quarter of 2026. Over the same period, he said, non-oil growth slowed from 8.5 percent to 5.4 percent, and agricultural growth from 7.1 percent to 3.9 percent.

He noted that ICT continues to contribute strongly to growth. He linked this to the digitalisation agenda championed by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

The letter questions the proposed US$10 billion New Economy investment programme, which it put at about US$2.5 billion a year over four years. Dr Amin Adam asked where the money would come from and how much of it was genuinely new.

He said the reported plan to cut the primary surplus target from 1.5 percent to 0.5 percent of GDP would allow more spending, but might slow debt reduction so soon after the debt restructuring. He also asked why Ghanaians should accept the new pledge when the earlier US$4 billion 24-Hour Economy plan had not been convincingly shown to be funded and implemented.

He called for a credible financing plan, clear milestones and measurable employment results. "Jobs are not created by press conferences," he wrote.