Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the 2024 vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has acknowledged that his party’s government successfully managed the health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic but paid a steep political price for the economic decisions made during that period.
The former Energy Minister made this candid admission during an appearance on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, reflecting on what he believes contributed to the party’s crushing defeat in the 2024 general election.
“I must say that if you take the context in Ghana, we did so well under COVID that it became a commendation of even advanced countries on how we tackled that. But like I say, you can win the battle and lose the war,” Dr Opoku Prempeh explained to host Evans Mensah.
The former Manhyia South legislator pointed to the immediate political consequences visible in the 2020 parliamentary elections, where the NPP lost its majority hold. He noted their vote margin plummeted from over one million to less than half that figure, an early warning signal the party apparently failed to fully grasp.
Dr Opoku Prempeh detailed how the government’s pandemic response created severe fiscal pressure. Revenue streams dried up dramatically, particularly port duties and levies that form a crucial part of Ghana’s income. Meanwhile, spending ballooned as the government maintained salary payments for civil servants, teachers, and nurses even during extended lockdown periods when they remained home.
“Revenue evaporated, especially in a country where your revenue mainly comes from your port duties and levies and charges, and expenditure went through the roof,” he stated. “Economic conditions were terribly harsh.”
The admission forms part of what Dr Opoku Prempeh describes as 10 months of deep political reflection following the NPP’s loss of power to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the return of former President John Dramani Mahama to office.
During the same interview, he identified what he believes was the government’s fundamental error. “We didn’t listen enough, we assumed a lot of things we shouldn’t have assumed,” he said, describing a widening trust gap between the Akufo Addo administration and ordinary Ghanaians.
Dr Opoku Prempeh, popularly known as NAPO (an acronym for his traditional name Nana Poku), argued that global economic shocks after the pandemic affected governments worldwide. He cited examples such as shipping container costs from China jumping from $1,200 to $14,000, wiping out lifetime savings for many citizens and causing unprecedented health tolls.
“Governments around the whole world have been toppled and changed,” he observed, suggesting only authoritarian regimes managed to weather the political storms created by pandemic aftershocks.
However, he stopped short of using global conditions as an excuse. Instead, he placed responsibility squarely on leadership failures within his own party. “The trust that was broken hurt so much so that we saw the results so broken,” he acknowledged.
The former minister has been engaging NPP grassroots structures across the Ashanti Region, calling for unity and collective responsibility rather than finger pointing as the party begins its rebuilding process ahead of the 2028 elections.
Dr Opoku Prempeh served as Minister for Education from 2017 to 2021 before taking on the Energy portfolio until 2024. He represented Manhyia South constituency in parliament for multiple terms before stepping down to become Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s running mate in the 2024 presidential race.
His recent reflections mark a notable shift in tone for a party that throughout the 2024 campaign cycle emphasized its pandemic management record as evidence of competent governance, while attributing economic hardships primarily to external factors including the Russia Ukraine war and global supply chain disruptions.
The NPP is now in opposition for the first time since 2017, with internal discussions intensifying around future leadership and ideological direction as it seeks to reconnect with voters who delivered a decisive rejection at the polls.
