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President John Dramani Mahama has strongly criticised the administration of former President Nana Akufo-Addo for mismanaging the Ghanaian economy during his eight-year tenure.
According to him, the economy was recklessly handled and crippled beyond reasonable levels, describing the country as a “crime scene.”
Addressing members of the National Tripartite Committee (NTC) on Thursday, 20th February, the President expressed his commitment to reviving the ailing economy and called for collective effort to achieve this goal.
We all knew the economy was in crisis, but some of the things I’m discovering myself... I mean, it’s been a criminal handling of our economy, and Ghana is actually a crime scene because I cannot understand how a government could have been so reckless.
He reaffirmed his commitment to reducing government expenditure and making sacrifices to protect the public purse:
A certain distrust of the political class has arisen because it seems that while everybody else is tightening their belts, the political class is loosening theirs. But I want to assure you that we are all going to tighten our belts, and there will be no wasteful expenditure.
National Minimum Wage and Base Pay Increment Finalised
Subsequently, the NTC finalised negotiations on the determination of the National Daily Minimum Wage (NDMW) and the Base Pay increment for 2025.
According to a communiqué issued following its meeting on Thursday, 20th February, in Accra, the committee agreed to increase the 2025 minimum wage by 10% from the previous year. This represents an increase from GH₵18.15 to GH₵19.97, effective 1st March 2025.
The statement noted that the agreement on the increment took into account the current economic challenges, cost of living, business sustainability, and the desirability of attaining a higher level of employment.
Similarly, the government and Organised Labour reached an agreement to increase Base Pay on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) by 10% across the board, from January 2025 to December 2025.