Dr Asah Asante, a Political scientist, has slammed former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his recent apology to Ghanaians regarding the pain caused by his government’s domestic debt restructuring programme.
According to Dr Asah Asante, Akufo-Addo’s apology is too late after he shattered the lives of Ghanaians.
He highlighted that the domestic debt restructuring programme disrupted the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Ghanaians, particularly the middle class, pensioners, and other vulnerable groups.
Speaking on the AM Show, Dr Asante stated, “Mr President, your policy shattered our lives. And up to date, we have not been able to put them together.
When you have shattered our lives and our livelihoods, you can’t bring it back. So I am right in saying that it’s too late to say you are sorry after you’ve shattered our lives”, he added.
Dr Asah Asante noted, “When you introduce a policy, you weigh its effects before you come with it full hog. Some of your lieutenants were saying we either take it or leave it. We saw people on the street who were sick and complaining. We saw pensioners protesting. It fell on deaf ears.
“Why apology? If you knew the policy was a good one, why apology?” he asked.
His comments come after former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo admitted that Ghana’s debt restructuring under his government shattered lives.
Akufo-Addo revealed that the debt restructuring deeply troubled him and still does.
According to Akufo-Addo, the debt restructuring under the G20 Common Framework was the most painful chapter of his presidency.
It will be recalled that Ghana, under Akufo-Addo in 2023, restructured $13 billion in Eurobonds and secured commitments that provided $10.5 billion in external debt service relief through 2026.
The debt restructuring reduced the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio from the mid-80s to 70.5 per cent and also boosted investor confidence and supported an IMF programme.
Akufo-Addo noted that the programme offered short-term economic relief but came at a heavy social and human cost.
Speaking at the AU-EU High-Level Seminar in Brussels on Thursday, October 2, 2025, on the eve of the AU-EU Summit, Akufo-Addo stated, “I witnessed the suffocating grip of debt on our economy and on our citizens. This deeply troubled me and still does”.
“The most painful part was the impact on ordinary people. Pensioners, young people, and small investors saw their lives and livelihoods shattered,” he said.
Akufo-Addo also turned his attention to the African continent’s debt challenges.
Mr Akufo-Addo highlighted that Africa’s $1 trillion debt burden reflects systemic inequities in global finance.
“Every dollar diverted to creditors is a dollar taken from a hospital, from a child’s vaccination, from a community’s future. This is not economics, it is inequity,” he stated.
“Debt relief for Africa is not an act of generosity. It is an act of justice,” he declared.
Akufo-Addo pleaded, “To our European partners, I say this: hear the voice of your neighbouring continent. Stand with the AU and South Africa’s G20 Presidency to advance ambitious reform of the Common Framework”.
The sacrifices we make today, the compromises, the collaborations we engage in today can only inure to the benefit of our world. When Africa rises free from the weight of debt, the whole world rises with it,” he added.
Akufo-Addo also proposed a Debt Relief for Green Investment and Resilience, a new framework linking debt cancellation to climate action.