Former Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Member of Parliament for Atiwa East, Abena Osei-Asare, has defended the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) economic records, stating that they did not go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) empty-handed.
Speaking during the debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President John Dramani Mahama on the floor of Parliament, Abena Osei-Asare emphasized that the NPP had a plan to address the economic challenges facing the country.
“We in the NPP never shied away from the challenges in the economy. We were honest about it. And that is why we came up with the 2CPAC program, the post-COVID-19 program for economic growth,” she stated.
“We did not lament. We did not throw our hands in the air. We acknowledged the challenges and came up with this program, which we sent to the IMF to assist us in the bailout.”
Abena Osei-Asare highlighted the successes of the NPP’s economic plan, citing the growth of the financial sector.
“For us, the data is clear. We left a much stronger financial sector than what we inherited in 2016,” she said. “We were able to save 4.6 million depositors’ money”.
“The total banking assets which we inherited in 2016 was around 81.2 billion. By October 2024, the total banking assets which we had, was 367.5 billion.”
The former Minister of State also praised the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, stating that he took decisive action to address the challenges facing the financial sector.
“It took a strong and decisive leader in the presidency of Akufo-Addo to do the needful. To do the needful. To do the needful. To foresee the total collapse of the financial sector,” she said.
Abena Osei-Asare’s defense of the NPP’s economic record comes amid criticism from the then-opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the government mishandled the economy and led the country to seek an IMF bailout.
However, Abena Osei-Asare’s statements suggest that the NPP had a clear plan to address the economic challenges facing the country and that their efforts have yielded positive results.
-BY Daniel Bampoe
