Dr. Sharif Mahmud Khalid, the Economic Policy Adviser to Ghana’s Vice-President, has defended the current administration’s handling of the economy, emphasizing the challenges they inherited and the corrective measures taken to stabilize the country’s finances.
In an appearance on Good Morning Ghana, Dr. Khalid highlighted the scale of the economic difficulties the government faced upon taking office. “We inherited a highly distressed economy,” he noted. “The central bank was posting significant losses, and a domestic debt exchange programme had to touch pension funds—an extreme measure that signals just how severe the crisis was.”
According to Dr. Khalid, the previous administration’s borrowing habits contributed significantly to the crisis. He criticized the earlier government for what he described as reckless debt accumulation without sufficient investments to match.
“We found an economy weighed down by Eurobond debts with little to show in terms of impactful projects or infrastructure. It’s one thing to borrow, but when that borrowing is not linked to productive investments, it becomes a burden,” he argued.
Dr. Khalid also responded to claims that the current administration is merely seeking credit for recent economic improvements. “We’re not here for praise,” he said. “We are here to fix a financial mess and make difficult but necessary decisions to restore stability.”
He pointed to the government’s commitment to fiscal discipline, debt restructuring, and ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as evidence of a serious approach to economic recovery.
“Anyone who understands the state of the economy we took over knows that the road to recovery is long, but we’re making real progress,” Dr. Khalid concluded.
