NPP govt ‘shared money like there was no tomorrow’ — Franklin Cudjoe
IMANI Africa President Franklin Cudjoe has taken a swipe at the erstwhile New Patriotic Party administration, accusing it of unchecked and poorly supervised spending.
He compared this to what he described as a more disciplined and rigorous approach to public finance under the current administration led by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
Cudjoe said the previous government spent public funds without adequate scrutiny. He claimed that money was handed out freely with little consideration for accountability. He shared a personal encounter at the Ghana Education Trust Fund, where he had gone to make inquiries about projects at his former school. According to him, mobilisation for contracts used to be almost automatic until the current administration introduced stricter checks.
He said his doubts about the new system were dispelled after a conversation with Dr Forson shortly before the presentation of the 2026 Budget. He recalled the minister telling him that the era of handing out funds without verification was over.
Cudjoe commended the government for reducing Ghana’s public debt at what he described as an unprecedented pace. He said the country had been plunged into a deep fiscal crisis, but the current administration had reversed the situation within a short period. He cited a fall in the public debt from sixty five percent to about forty five percent of GDP, describing Dr Forson as a good shepherd who deserved credit for the turnaround.
This assessment is reflected in figures contained in the 2026 Budget Statement, which show that Ghana’s public debt declined from GHS seven hundred and twenty six point seven billion, representing sixty one point eight percent of GDP in 2024, to GHS six hundred and thirty point two billion, or forty five percent of GDP as of October 2025. The Finance Minister attributed the decline to prudent borrowing, fiscal discipline, and a stronger cedi.