Mahama criticises economy despite Akufo-Addo’s growth stance – My XYZ online

President-elect John Mahama has criticised the current state of Ghana’s economy, despite the outing President, Akufo-Addo’s optimism about recent economic growth.

While Akufo-Addo has hailed the reported growth in the third quarter, Mr Mahama insists the economy remains terrible.

“The priority is the economy, even though the president sounds unbeatable about the third-quarter growth, from what I’ve seen, the economy is very sick,” Mr Mahama stated.

Mr Mahama made the remarks after meeting with Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council members, who paid him a courtesy call.

Speaking on the state of the country’s power sector, he expressed serious concerns about the state of governance within the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), highlighting that the company is grappling with both commercial and technical losses, reaching a staggering 32%.

Mahama described these losses as unsustainable, calling for urgent reforms across the electricity sector to ensure long-term viability.

“The energy sector can derail everything we’ve achieved with regards to debt exchange and the IMF programme, as the debt continues to pile up,” he warned.

He added that “No utility company can survive with 32% commercial and technical losses and remain a viable entity”.

He then stressed the need for swift action on various fronts in the energy sector, which he identified as a critical area for the incoming National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to address.

Mr Mahama reiterated the importance of reforming the entire electricity value chain, stressing that such changes are essential for improving efficiency and ensuring sustainable power supply in the future.