Economist and University of Ghana Professor of Finance, Godfred Bokpin, says the Mahama administration deserves significant credit for stabilizing the Ghanaian economy, citing aggressive fiscal discipline, targeted expenditure cuts, and stronger economic leadership.
According to him, from the data and fiscal posture, it is obvious there is a new direction with the administration taking a more aggressive approach to expenditure-based fiscal consolidation.
“We haven’t seen anything like this in our recent history,” he stated.
Speaking on TV3’s political talk show, ‘The Key Points’ on Saturday, Prof. Bokpin outlined a clear contrast between the fiscal strategies adopted in 2025 and those implemented after the 2016 election, stressing that recent gains are not accidental but reflect a deliberate and disciplined economic strategy.
He explained that, unlike the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, which increased total expenditure by over 30% in 2017, contradicting the principles of fiscal consolidation, the current administration led by President John Mahama has executed real spending restraint.
“The 2025 government did not just talk about cutting expenditure, they did it. Over GH¢1.2 billion in actual spending was slashed, and that’s a historic shift,” he emphasized.
Professor Bokpin drew attention to the dramatic decline in inflation under the current government, crediting fiscal discipline for supporting effective monetary policy.
“In December 2024, inflation stood at 23.8%. By June 2025, it had fallen to 13.7%. That pace of disinflation is far more aggressive than what we saw in 2017 under the NPP. You can trace this progress directly to fiscal restraint and targeted economic leadership,” he argued.
He contrasted this with the NPP’s record in 2017 when inflation fell more modestly from 15.4% in December 2016 to 12.1% by June 2017.
According to Prof. Bokpin, the Bank of Ghana’s ability to effectively use monetary tools has also improved because of the responsible fiscal environment created by the Finance Ministry.
“If the previous administration had demonstrated even 40% of the fiscal discipline we are seeing now, they wouldn’t have left office with the exchange rate pressures they experienced,” he noted.
He revealed that as of October 2024, the previous government had enough reserves to manage exchange rate volatility but failed to act due to fears of pre-election spending pressures and historical tendencies towards fiscal indiscipline.
While Prof. Bokpin acknowledged the role of the former administration in building up reserves, he was clear that the Mahama government’s leadership has been crucial in putting the economy back on track.
“Yes, we must give credit to the previous administration for the reserves they built. But beyond the optics, when these politicians sit back, they know they didn’t just take over liabilities—they took over assets too,” he said.
He added, “This kind of fiscal discipline and leadership cannot happen without strong presidential support. The Minister of Finance could not have succeeded without clear backing from the President.”
Prof. Bokpin, however, urged the government to be cautious in continuing aggressive expenditure cuts beyond 2025.
“We must manage the trade-off. Aggressive fiscal consolidation should not suppress growth in Q3 and Q4 of 2025 or beyond. The government cannot operate the 2026–2027 budgets with the same austerity template. At some point, they must start spending progressively,” he warned.
Prof. Bokpin concluded with a strong endorsement of the administration’s current path and argued that this is the optimal intervention, and the results are backed by data. Ghana, he said, is witnessing a return to fiscal discipline that supports real economic recovery. “We just have to make sure we sustain it wisely,” he said.
