Former Finance Minister Dr Mohammed Amin Adam has challenged the Mahama administration to explain how it intends to raise US$10 billion to finance its New Economy programme, questioning its ability to deliver on the initiative.
He argued that the government had struggled to implement its flagship 24-Hour Economy programme, which was initially projected to cost US$4 billion, making the new US$10 billion funding target difficult to justify.
Dr Amin Adam also accused the government of abandoning the 24-Hour Economy programme and repackaging its projects under the New Economy agenda without adequately accounting for the change.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, November 13, following the presentation of the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, he said the transfer of projects from the original programme raised questions about its implementation status.
“Projects and programmes on the 24-hour economy have been lifted into the New Economy. And this is why we were very confident that the 24-hour economy has failed. They have repackaged the 24-hour economy as the new economy. If it hasn’t failed, what is the reason for the government repackaging it and renaming it as the New Economy?” he asked.
The former minister insisted that the government owed Ghanaians an explanation about the fate of the 24-Hour Economy initiative.
He further questioned how the administration intended to convince the public that it could mobilise US$10 billion for the New Economy when it had allegedly failed to deliver a programme requiring US$4 billion.
“If this government could not deliver the 24-hour economy, which was costing $4 billion, how do they expect Ghanaians to believe them that they can fund a renamed 24-hour economy with $10 billion, $5 billion in two years? How are they going to do that?” he queried.
Beyond the financing concerns, Dr Amin Adam accused the government of presenting previously announced projects as fresh interventions under the New Economy agenda.
He cited the proposed oil palm development programme, which targets the cultivation of 100,000 hectares and the creation of 250,000 jobs.
According to him, the same targets were captured in the 2026 Budget presented in November 2025, raising questions about why the initiative had resurfaced as a new project.
He also questioned the government’s readiness to implement the oil palm programme, arguing that the land required for the project had yet to be acquired.
Dr Amin Adam called for greater transparency on the status of the inherited projects and the proposed financing arrangements for the New Economy programme.
The initiative, expected to commence in 2027 as Ghana marks 70 years of independence, is designed to reduce dependence on raw commodity exports, expand domestic production and address recurring boom-and-bust economic cycles.
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has described the New Economy as an integrated production system that will direct investments into strategic sectors while sustaining macroeconomic stability.
