The Executive Director at policy think tank, the Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy, IERPP, Dr. George Domfe, has dismissed claims that Ghana’s economy was not adversely impacted by the deadly coronavirus pandemic and the war Russia waged on Ukraine.
Contributing to TV3’s KeyPoint programme on Saturday, March 1, 2025, on President John Dramani Mahama’s State of the Nation Address, the development economist said it would be disingenuous for any Ghanaian to say that Covid–19 as well as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine did not contribute to the challenges Ghana’s economy has faced between 2020 and 2024.
“When Nana Akufo–Addo took over in 2017 and inflation was 15.4%, it dropped down to 7.6% by September 2019, and that is the lowest in recent history, you can check these figures out from the Bank of Ghana. COVID–19 came from nowhere to disrupt things. We cannot, therefore, underestimate the adverse impacts COVID had on our economy’’ he stated.
“By January 2022, inflation was 13.6%, which was less than the 15.4% Nana Akufo–Addo inherited. By February 2022, inflation hit 15.7%, and that was the 62nd month of Akufo–Addo’s administration and the first time his inflation became became higher than what was inherited from President John Dramani Mahama. That inflation hit 54% at the end of 2022 should tell you that clearly something was hitting the economy from somewhere” he added.
“Putin’s war against Ukraine worsened the situation of the global economy, and Ghana was no exception. Production levels in Ukraine were hit because of the war. The trickling down effect was so severe that other countries got affected. We can’t gloss over these two major events when talking about the problems the Ghanaian economy under President Akufo-Addo faced” the Executive Director of IERPP stated.
The Development Economist and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS) at the College of Humanities, University of Ghana further stressed that the resultant effects of the pandemic were higher inflationary figures in many commodities.
“During this period, a barrel of crude oil being sold for $72 quickly moved to $121 on the global market. That meant that the BDCs would have to go and buy it at that exorbitant price and you don’t expect them to come and sell it here cheaply.
Notwithstanding that, freight charges went up by 300%, and Nana Akufo-Addo doesn’t control shipping lines and how much they should charge” Dr. Domfe indicated.
He said that Germany experienced the highest inflation in 70 years, the US experienced their highest inflation in 40 years, UK the highest inflation in almost 4 decades. He further said that all over the world, inflation became a major challenge.
Dr. Domfe used the opportunity to challenge his co-panelists and other critics out there to propose alternative solutions for the management of the economy under the circumstances the Akufo-Addo administration found itself.
“Until we appreciate the fundamental weaknesses of our economy and work towards strengthening them, we shall be coming back to these issues in the years to come. Very little could have been done to stop the economy from going downhill apart from what the Akufo-Addo government did” he said.
He also indicated that at the beginning of 2025, the country had a total reserve of about $8.9 billion as a buffer as against the $6.1 billion left by the Mahama administration when leaving office.
Demand for dollars, he emphasised, went high due to increased prices of commodities on the global market as a result of COVID-19 and the war in Europe.
It is against this backdrop that the Executive Director of IERPP indicated that COVID-19 and the Russian/Ukrainian war can never be underestimated in the discussions pertaining to the health of the economy under the Akufo-Addo regime.
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