Ghana’s economy is in far poorer shape than the New Patriotic Party had anticipated, President Nana Akufo-Addo has said.

“We have inherited an economy in poor shape and I suspect from what I’m hearing, the evidence that is coming to me that it is in even poorer shape than we anticipated,” Mr Akufo-Addo said on Tuesday, 24 January, at the Flagstaff House as he named his 10 regional ministers-designate.

The president nonetheless said: “But I’m a firm believer in the statement that when times are tough, the tough get going.

“This is the time that we have to show leadership and commitment to our nation. I continue to be an unrepentant optimist,” he said, adding: “We are a special people and we have a special destiny and I’m going to do everything within my bones to make sure that that destiny is realised in the years ahead of us.”

Mr Akufo-Addo’s comment about the shape of the economy comes weeks after his deputy, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, said the Mahama administration left the NPP a “very difficult” economy.

Speaking at a durbar of Zongo chiefs and imams at Fadama in Accra organised by the Chief Imam to mark the birthday of Holy Prophet Mohammed on January 15, Dr Bawumia said despite the bad economy the New Patriotic Party has inherited, the Akufo-Addo-led government would deliver on all its promises.

“…We said that when by the grace of Allah we get into government, we will undertake a number of policies and by the grace of God we have gotten into government, we have looked at the economic situation, it is not an easy one, it is a very difficult one but by the grace of Allah we intend to keep all the promises that we made to the people of Ghana.

“You have already seen that we mean business; we are going to deal with the economic challenges. After all, that is what we were elected to do,” Dr Bawumia said.

As part of those promises, Dr Bawumia said the government will established the Zongo Development Fund in the first quarter of the year. “We will establish the Zongo Development Fund in our very first budget in March of this year. It is very important for people of the zongos and Muslims at large who live in the zongos. … We will establish it and work in consultation with our chiefs, our imams, our opinion leaders to make sure the fund is delivers on the needs of the people of the zongos.”