Posts by X accounts affiliated with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) shared varying economic data on the state of the economy that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was bequeathing to the new John Dramani Mahama administration.
These posts were shared on January 7, 2025, the day of John Mahama’s inauguration as Ghana’s 6th Fourth Republican president. The caption to these posts read: “NPP hands over to NDC with.”
The indicators shared by the respective posts include the dollar-to-cedi exchange rate, inflation rate, GDP growth rate, cocoa prices, national service allowance, trainee allowance and others.
Screenshots of the two posts on X
In this report, GhanaFact will verify the indicators mentioned by the X users.
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Fact-Check
To verify these claims, GhanaFact reviewed relevant data and reports from government sites including the Bank of Ghana (BOG), Ghana Statistical Service(GSS), Ghana Cocoa Board, and the National Service Authority (NSA).
On January 7, 2025, former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the NPP handed power over to President John Dramani Mahama of the NDC.
Dollar-to-cedi exchange rate
As of January 6, 2025, the dollar-to-cedi exchange rate stood at GH¢ 14.7000, according to the BoG’s Historical Interbank FX rate.
Inflation rate for December 2024
According to the GSS Statistical Bulletin, published on January 8, 2025, the inflation rate for December 2024 increased to 23.8% from November’s 23.0%.
GDP
The latest report on GDP from the Ghana Statistical Service is the Statistical Newsletter: Gross Domestic Product Third Quarter 2024(July to September) published on December 11, 2024, the GDP growth rate for the third quarter(Q3) of 2024 is 7.2%.
Cocoa producer price
The Ghana Cocoa Board on November 10, 2024, announced the producer price of cocoa per bag was increased from GH¢3,000 to GH¢3,100.
Former President Akufo-Addo in his final State of Nations Address (SONA) on January 3, 2025, mentioned his administration(NPP) has kept the energy sector legacy debt at $2.5 billion, the same level he inherited.
NSS Allowance
According to a report from the National Service Authority, the management secured government approval for upward adjustment of monthly allowances for National Service Personnel from GH¢559.04 to GH¢715.57.
Teacher trainee allowance
The trainee allowance remains GHS 400 and is disbursed through the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF). According to the Ministry of Health, the nursing trainee allowance, which was scrapped in 2014, was restored in 2017. Each beneficiary currently receives GHS 400 per month, and this amount has remained unchanged to date.
Similarly, the teacher trainee allowance was restored in 2017 at GHS 400 per month with a portion of this allowance being allocated directly to their respective institutions as a feeding grant.
The table below shows the figures claimed on X and the verified figures from official sources
| Indicators | @voAmponsah | @GGabrielaryea33 | Verified figures (Official Data) |
| Dollar-to-cedi exchange rate | GH¢14 | GH¢16 | GH¢14.700 |
| Inflation rate | 23% | 23% | 23.8% |
| GDP rate | 7.1% | 7.1% | 7.2% (Q3) |
| Price of a cocoa bag | GH¢3,000 | GH¢4,500 | GH¢3,100 |
| NSS allowance | GH¢715 | GH¢715 | GH¢715.75 |
| Trainee allowance | GH¢400 | GH¢400 | GH¢400 |
From the findings, while some indicators align slightly with verified data, others are exaggerated or inconsistent with official sources.
For instance, the dollar-cedi exchange rate is GH¢14.700, not GH¢16 or GH¢14 as claimed. The inflation rate is 23.8%, not 23%, and the price of a cocoa bag is GH¢3,100, not GH4,500 or GH¢3000 as the claims on X suggested.
The NPP administration handed a GDP growth rate of 7.2% slightly over 7.1% as claimed.
National Service Allowance and Trainee allowance remain GH¢715.75 and GH¢400 respectively as claimed.
Verdict
From the above, a mixture verdict is reached because the posts are of accurate and inaccurate figures.
Researched by Nusrat Essah
