Former Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has taken a swipe at the government’s economic strategy, arguing that small businesses in Ghana do not necessarily need flagship initiatives like the “Big Push” program, but rather an enabling environment that fosters growth.
Speaking on the recently announced 2025 budget, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah emphasized that the most significant form of support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is economic stability, not large-scale intervention programs.
“From my economics background, the best help you can give small businesses is not from some of these flagship programs (Big Push). It’s in creating what we call the enabling environment,” he stated.
He pointed to inflation as a major obstacle, arguing that tackling rising prices should be the government’s priority in supporting businesses.
“The biggest help you can give me is to reduce inflation. The enabling environment is the biggest help you can give small businesses, and that’s where we have had challenges over the period,” he added.
Oppong Nkrumah also raised concerns about the government’s failure to outline concrete measures to reduce electricity costs in the budget.
Instead, he accused the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, of subtly indicating that electricity tariffs will continue to rise.
“In the budget, the government didn’t roll out clear strategies to reduce electricity bills. The Finance Minister said that every three months, electricity will go up. He used the English term ‘quarterly adjustments,’” he noted.
His remarks come amid growing concerns from businesses and households over Ghana’s rising cost of living, with many calling for urgent interventions to ease the economic burden.
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson presented the 2025 budget before parliament on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. He announced government’s committed to implement the US$10 billion Big Push Programme for accelerated infrastructure
development.
