Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has strongly criticised the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration over what he described as reckless spending in the energy sector, revealing that nearly $7 billion was used in eight years merely to "keep the lights on."

Speaking during a post mid-year budget review on Accra-based CTV’s morning show, hosted by Dr. Kofi Annan on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, Dr. Forson questioned the rationale behind the massive expenditure without any sustainable initiatives to strengthen the sector.

He explained that the energy sector remains distressed, requiring an estimated GH¢28 billion annually—equivalent to $2 billion to maintain the power supply —a situation he attributed to gross mismanagement under the former New Patriotic Party government.

“The Electricity Company of Ghana continues to post losses that far exceed the average among ECOWAS member states.

This poses the single biggest risk to the Mahama administration in terms of securing fuel for Independent Power Producers (IPPs),” he stated.

Expressing deep concern, Dr. Forson said he was “shocked by the level of recklessness handed over” to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

He lamented the dire state of the economy inherited by President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, describing it as “aggressively damaged” and in urgent need of repair.

“As a government, we had no choice but to intervene and try to salvage the country from further decline,” he said, noting that debt levels were staggering, affecting various sectors including cocoa, roads, and contractor payments.

He also disclosed that the government payroll was bloated with unverified employees, significantly increasing the public wage bill.

Dr. Forson further labelled the economy left behind by the former President Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led administration as a “procurement economy.”

“All they did was procure—procure everything and manufacture nothing,” he asserted.