… A Retrospective on the \xa0‘Ghana Beyond Aid’
By Constance Gbedzo
The presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (2017-2025) was defined by ambitious flagship socioeconomic programs, a vision of “Ghana Beyond Aid,” and a period of initial economic stability that was ultimately derailed by excessive borrowing and debt overhang, and major global shocks.
President Akufo-Addo’s administration centered its social and economic policy around several high-impact, transformational initiatives.
Free SHS was to eliminate all cost barriers for secondary education, ensuring that every qualified Ghanaian child has access to secondary education.
1D1F was expected to promote industrialization and job creation across the country by establishing at least one factory or enterprise in each of Ghana’s administrative districts.
PFJ was to enhance food security and create job opportunities by supplying subsidized fertilizers and seeds to farmers and improving extension services.
The Ghana Card, on other hand, was to create a robust national identification system as a foundation for digital economy and social service delivery.
Finally, Digitalization was to digitize public services and revenue collection (e.g., Ghana.Gov, Mobile Money Interoperability) to improve efficiency and reduce corruption.
With regards to economic performance, Akufo Addo administration’s economic tenure can be broadly divided into two phases:
- Initial Stabilization and Growth (2017 – 2019): Growth; the economy saw an initial boost, with GDP growth rates recovering from previous lows, driven partly by the oil sector and a more diversified economy. An era of Fiscal Consolidation; the government initially sought to implement a policy of fiscal prudence to tackle high public debt and deficit, laying a foundation for the “Ghana Beyond Aid” vision.
- Then, the Shocks and Crisis (2020 – 2024): Fiscal Deterioration; the period was characterized by high spending, combined with lower-than-expected revenue generation, leading to a sharp increase in the fiscal deficit and the public debt-to-GDP ratio. Inflation and Currency; Ghana experienced an economic crisis marked by record-high inflation (surging above 50% in 2022) and significant depreciation of the Cedi (the local currency), severely impacting the cost of living.
Government sought explanation in the global shocks, notably the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. These shocks, obviously, escalated the already precarious economic situation, and led to massive expenditures for public health and economic relief, coupled with reduced revenues. The economic crisis forced the government to reverse its initial stance on non-reliance on external aid and seek a three-year support program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2022.
The macroeconomic performance during Nana Addo’s period, based on the available information, shows fluctuations in key indicators. Key highlights are as follows: Public Debt: The public debt as a percentage of GDP saw a significant increase over the tenure, rising from a pre-COVID figure of around 63.0% (including the banking sector clean-up cost) in 2019 to peak at an all-time high of 85.70% in 2022. Figures are available for the latter years, with multiple data points, particularly for 2022 and 2023, reflecting different calculations (e.g., pre/post-Domestic Debt Exchange Program). The 2024 figure is 70.5%. The value 92.4% for 2022 and 84.9% for 2023 are specifically mentioned in relation to the Domestic Debt exchange Program.\xa0 Inflation: Inflation was contained in the single digits in the pre-COVID years (e.g., 7.14% in 2019) but saw an aggressive rise, reaching over 30% by 2022 and peaking at 54.1% in December 2022 before beginning a downward trend in 2023 at 22.85 and year end 2024 at 23.8%. Fiscal Deficit: The fiscal deficit narrowed from the 11.7% of GDP recorded in 2020 (a COVID-impacted year) to a provisional 9.6% in 2021, and was a key focus of the government’s fiscal consolidation efforts. The range for 2023 between 4.5% and 3.4%, and 2024 figure was 7.7%.
Social Performance
The Free SHS policy, a major social achievement, engendered massive access to education. It ensured that millions of young people who might have been excluded due to financial constraints gained access to high school education. The immediate influx of students led to significant strains on resources, infrastructure, and the introduction of the controversial Double Track System in some schools.
The Planting for Food and Jobs PFJ) program contributed to food security of the country. There was some increase in domestic food production for some crops, boosting farmer incomes and helping to stabilize domestic food supply in its early years.
Nonetheless, Digital Inclusion was enhanced, resulting from aggressive digitalization agenda, including the widespread adoption of the Ghana Card and mobile money interoperability, significantly improved the foundation for modern public service delivery and financial inclusion.
The administration’s performance on employment and poverty reduction presents a mixed picture, characterized by ambitious job-creation programs that saw some initial success, but were ultimately undercut by the severe economic crisis in the latter part of the tenure. The government’s strategy for employment was based on a dual approach: direct public sector recruitment and private sector stimulation through flagship programs. The Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), a major intervention that temporarily employed 100,000 unemployed graduates in the public sector across various modules (e.g., education, health, revenue mobilization), provided income and experience to a large cohort of youth. NABCO was a temporary scheme. Its eventual phasing out without a clear, sustainable transition plan for all beneficiaries left a persistent challenge of youth unemployment.
There were increased public sector recruitment. Significant numbers of people, particularly teachers and nurses who had previously been left unemployed after training, were recruited into permanent public service roles. Government sources claim hundreds of thousands of jobs were created this way. Official claims of millions of jobs created (ranging from 2.1 million to over 3 million) have often been contested, with critics pointing out inconsistencies between ministerial figures and data from institutions like SSNIT (Social Security and National Insurance Trust).
The One District One Factory (1D1F) program was expected to stimulate private sector industrial job creation. Hundreds of projects were initiated, with the promise of thousands of direct and indirect jobs across the districts as factories became operational. While the number of commissioned factories grew, the overall scale of sustainable, well-paid private sector jobs generated was not enough to significantly absorb the large numbers of new entrants into the job market each year.
More so, by subsidizing inputs for farmers, the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) program aimed to stimulate agricultural production, indirectly creating jobs and increasing incomes for smallholder farmers. The macroeconomic instability, characterized by high inflation and a rapid cedi depreciation, crippled the purchasing power of the jobs created and significantly increased operating costs for the private sector, hindering further employment growth.
Major Corruption Allegations and Scandals
The administration of Akufo Addo was frequently confronted with high-profile corruption allegations, with the government often defending and the president clearing the accused officials. Key cases include; Agyapa Royalties Deal: A controversial transaction that sought to securitize Ghana’s gold royalties. The investigation by the first Special Prosecutor raised concerns about possible bid rigging and conflicts of interest; PDS/ECG Privatization Deal: the concession agreement for the private management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) was suspended and eventually terminated due to what the government described as material breaches related to the use of an invalid insurance guarantee; Galamsey (Illegal Mining) Economy: Scandals involving top government officials were exposed in investigative documentaries, leading to the sacking of a junior finance minister in 2022 after he was implicated in a documentary alleging influence peddling for potential investors; Sputnik V Vaccine Scandal: Allegations related to the procurement of Russian Sputnik V vaccines at inflated prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The consistent public unrest and the repeated allegations of corruption contributed to a worsening public perception of the government’s commitment to fighting the menace.
Specific allegations and cases of corruption and financial impropriety in public institutions are as follows:
- Cecilia Dapaah Case: The former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources was investigated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) after it was revealed that large sums of cash, including over $1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghanaian Cedis, were allegedly stolen from her private residence. The OSP later found additional suspicious financial activities across her bank accounts, totaling millions of dollars and Cedis, raising questions of illicit financial dealings and abuse of public office.
- The major corruption allegations against Ken Ofori-Atta, the former Minister for Finance, center on his alleged involvement in multiple high-profile financial misconduct cases, which have been taken up by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
c)\xa0\xa0 The Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance was sacked after an investigative documentary alleged he demanded a $200,000 bribe from potential investors, claiming it was for the Vice President to facilitate business access. The case was referred to prosecutors.
- The OSP launched an investigation into suspected corruption related to the operations of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), specifically regarding payments made in respect of the Agyapa Royalties Limited While Mr. Ofori-Atta defended the deal as transparent and the best for Ghana’s gold assets, the transaction was heavily scrutinized by civil society organizations and the Minority in Parliament over transparency, the valuation of the gold royalties, and its structure, which involved a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) registered in a perceived tax haven.
- The OSP is probing the contractual arrangements between Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for revenue assurance in the petroleum and mineral sectors. Allegations of improper procurement and questions about the contract’s value for money have been raised, including claims that over $83 million was allegedly paid to SML without the legally required approval from the Public Procurement Authority.
f)\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 Ghana National Development Bank. \xa0A bank, primarily capitalized by World Bank and European funds, was accused of egregious spending, particularly on professional and consulting services and Information Technology (IT). Allegations include highly inflated contract sums—such as a $17.12 million contract for a core banking solution that was reportedly 59% higher than budgeted—suggesting potential financial abuse and waste of public and development funds.
- The procurement processes and financial transactions related to the controversial National Cathedral project. This project, which was initially expected to be funded by private donations, allegedly received tens of millions of dollars in unaccounted public funds under his tenure. Critics accused the former Minister of authorizing substantial disbursements of state funds despite the lack of due diligence and proper oversight.
h)\xa0\xa0 COCOBOD was alleged to have engaged in sole-sourcing for the procurement of insecticides from a company, Agri-Plus Horizon Farm Limited, leading to suspicions of nepotism and trade-based money laundering. COCOBOD denied the nepotism claim, stating the sole sourcing was due to the company having the proprietary certificate for the required chemical.
i)\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 COVID-19 Funds Management Procurement Law Violations. The management of COVID-19 emergency funds faced severe scrutiny for lack of transparency and accountability. Reports indicated persistent violations of procurement laws, including the extensive use of single-sourced contracts without publishing the details as required by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), which significantly heightened corruption risks.
j)\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 The Auditor-General’s annual reports on the Public Accounts of Ghana consistently highlighted massive losses to the state due to financial irregularities in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), and Public Boards, Corporations, and Statutory Institutions. These irregularities include cash irregularities, outstanding debtors/loans, tax irregularities, and procurement issues, running into billions of Ghanaian Cedis annually.
k)\xa0\xa0\xa0 Public Sector Bribery. A 2021 survey on corruption in Ghana revealed that approximately 26.7% of adults who had contact with a public official paid a bribe. It estimated that more than 17.4 million bribes were paid in 2021, mostly in cash, and that the prevalence of bribery was higher among people with tertiary education.
l)\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 Creation of Anti-Corruption Measures
The Akuffo Addo Government had undertaken some Anti-Corruption Measures that saw the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP). The creation of the OSP in 2018 was a major campaign promise intended to create an independent body to investigate and prosecute grand corruption involving public officials.
Conversely, the OSP’s performance has been viewed with dissatisfaction by critics due to its inability to successfully prosecute a sufficient number of high-profile cases. The first Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, resigned in 2020, alleging that the President attempted to interfere with his report on the controversial Agyapa Royalties deal, although the Presidency denied the interference claim.
Under the current Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, the office has investigated numerous cases, including the high-profile case involving a former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah, over alleged unexplained wealth. The OSP also conducted an anti-corruption risk assessment of the controversial deal to securitize Ghana’s gold royalties, which report identified issues of possible bid rigging and a high risk of corruption and corruption-related offenses, and raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
Nonetheless, the government was faced with sustained criticism and public protests regarding high-level corruption and perceived mismanagement of state funds (e.g., the National Cathedral project), which contributed to public dissatisfaction.
Several past appointees of Akufo Addos Adminitration are being investigated for all manner of corrupt conducts. Following his failure to appear for a scheduled interrogation, the OSP declared Mr. Ofori-Atta a wanted fugitive from justice and requested that INTERPOL issue a Red Notice against him under the charge of “Using Public Office for Profit.”
Regrettably, under the watch of President Akufo Addo, Ghana’s score on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which measures the perceived level of public sector corruption, generally stagnated. Initial Score dropped to 40/100 in 2017, then rose marginally to 43/100 and generally stagnated there for four consecutive years. The score dropped to 42/100 in a more recent index (2024), which was Ghana’s worst ranking in five years.
This stagnation indicates that despite the establishment of the OSP and public anti-corruption rhetoric, experts and businesses did not perceive a significant improvement in the public sector’s control of corruption.
Overall, President Akufo-Addo’s administration will be remembered as a government of high ambition and significant social investment like the Free SHS, whose economic legacy was largely overshadowed by the severe debt and inflation crisis of its second term.
The Akufo-Addo government successfully implemented major social protection policies (such as the Free SHS) that directly reduced the financial burden on poor households. \xa0His government also appeared very aggressive in its job creation efforts, largely through direct and temporary public employment. However, it struggled to achieve the required structural transformation via private sector and industrial growth (1D1F) that could have led to long-term, sustainable, and higher-quality jobs necessary to reduce the overall youth unemployment rate. While job creation was a core promise of 1D1F, the scale of jobs created was insufficient to significantly tackle the persistent problem of mass youth unemployment.
Indeed, those flagship programs were transformational ideas aimed at structural change, but their ultimate success was often challenged by funding sustainability, implementation efficiency, and the overwhelming burden of the macroeconomic instability that defined the end of his tenure. Often, you hear government official talk about so much numbers of roads and interchanges, schools and blocks, hospitals, etc. built, \xa0However, these micro-level successes were largely overwhelmed and negated by the macroeconomic collapse of 2022-2024, which led to a widespread increase in hardship and vulnerability for the general population.
The record of President Akufo-Addo’s administration on corruption is characterized by a high number of allegations and scandals, coupled with the establishment of a key anti-graft institution that faced challenges with delivering successful high-profile prosecutions.
Despite those early efforts, the economic crisis led to high inflation, which significantly worsened living standards for many, pushing more people into poverty. Inflation-Driven Poverty became obvious. High inflation, particularly in food prices, severely eroded household purchasing power and living standards, pushing more people into poverty—a massive reversal of previous gains.
The single biggest setback was the severe economic crisis in 2022-2024.
\xa0Constance is a Risk & Enterprise Development Expert
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Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
