You had 8 years, why didn’t you fix it? – Ato Forson questions Bawumia’s legacy

Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has launched a direct challenge to Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, questioning what he did during his eight years in office to stabilise the Ghana cedi.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express after presenting the 2025 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy to Parliament, the minister dismissed recent criticisms by Dr. Bawumia and accused the former head of the Economic Management Team of failing to live up to his promises.

“So first of all, let me name one policy. Number one, they were indisciplined. We are disciplined. That is the bottom line. They were spending recklessly when the central bank was printing money as if there was no tomorrow. At one point, they printed until inflation reached 54%.

“You know, when that happens, you deplete your reserves. It is not happening now. The central bank is not printing. The Government of Ghana has been disciplined. The fiscal consolidation is happening. So why won’t you build reserves?”

Reacting to Dr. Bawumia’s suggestion that the current cedi appreciation is due more to global factors than deliberate policy, Dr. Forson hit back hard.

“I also want to make this point to him, if, for example, he knows that he could do this, why didn’t he do it during the 8 years of office? He was there as vice president and chairman of the economic management team.”

When Evans Mensah pointed out that Dr. Bawumia was not the president, Dr. Forson doubled down.

“He was the chairman of the economic management team. Remember, he touts himself as the Messiah, and he said he was going to fix it. He had eight years in office, and there was a time he said that he had arrested the cedi. Why couldn’t he do it?”

Asked whether he had now “arrested” the cedi himself, Dr. Forson responded, “I can say I’ve arrested the cedi.”

But when pressed further, he quickly corrected himself: “I can’t say I have arrested the cedi, the cedi has appreciated, that is what I can say.”

With the host insisting that the data shows a historic appreciation, Dr. Forson refused to take the bait.

“Let me say that I’m very focused. We want to ensure that we’ll end the year with the same level of appreciation. We want to make sure that this level of appreciation and the stability we are seeing are sustained. That is where my focus is.”

When asked again why he wouldn’t declare the cedi “arrested,” Dr. Forson quipped, “I’m not a policeman.”

The exchange marked one of the sharpest responses yet from the Finance Minister in the ongoing battle of economic legacies between the current administration and the former Vice President.

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