Former Deputy Minister, Abena Osei Asare, has criticized President John Dramani Mahama’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), accusing him of blame-shifting and populist promises.
President Mahama, in his address on Thursday, February 27, 2025, indicated that the economy is in a bad state and was mismanaged by the previous government.
However, the former Deputy Minister dismissed these allegations, saying that these allegations made by President John Mahama were filled with “populist promises, economic doom-saying, and blame-shifting.”
She criticized the president’s statements, saying they were baseless and claims of mismanagement are untrue as there were signs of recovery before the transition of power.
”Like many nations, we encountered challenges, but we took responsible measures to mitigate them. Signs of economic recovery were evident before the transition of power,” she explained.
According to her, the President lacked clarity on how he plans to fund various social interventions programs.
”President John Dramani Mahama’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) was expected to set tone for his administration’s governance agenda. Instead, it was a predictable mix of economic doom-saying, political blame-shifting, and populist promises without a credible funding plan,” she stated.
She stated further that “it is ironic that, on the other hand, the President describes the economy as being in an intensive care unit (ICU), yet, on the other hand, he is pushing for massive social intervention programs without indication how they will be financed.
