Renowned economist Kwame Pianim has responded to a viral Facebook post falsely attributing a statement to him that appears to praise the current government. The post, which features a photo of Mr. Pianim alongside President Mahama, has been widely circulated online.
Speaking to this paper in a telephone interview yesterday, Mr. Pianim firmly denied any connection to the statement.
“I don’t know the gentleman who wrote that. I’ve never spoken to him in my life. And clearly, he doesn’t know who Kwadwo Mpiani is,” he said. “People often confuse me—Kwame Pianim—with Kwadwo Mpiani. That statement was attributed to someone named Mpiani, not me.”
Mr. Pianim clarified that the photo used in the viral post was taken during a visit to President Mahama in July, when he accompanied members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Teachers’ Fund.
He also dismissed the tone and content of the statement, saying it clearly doesn’t reflect his views or language.
“When I visited the President, I simply told him he has a historic opportunity to make a difference for Ghana. Out of 35 million people, he’s the only one who has served at all levels—Assemblyman, MP, Deputy Minister, Minister, Vice President, and President—and has come back. So, he knows all our tricks,” Mr. Pianim said.
Renowned economist Kwame Pianim has strongly dismissed a viral social media post falsely attributing political praise to him. The statement, which has been circulating online, appears under the name “Mpianim” and is accompanied by a photo of Mr. Pianim and President John Dramani Mahama, taken during a visit to the Jubilee House in July.
Mr. Pianim, who founded the Teachers’ Fund, pointed out a key inconsistency in the post: “To take a photo from July and say the government has been in office for eight months just doesn’t add up. Even a layman can see that the math doesn’t work.”
He made it clear that he has no connection to the statement or its author: “I don’t know the guy. I don’t know where he got his story from, but none of those words are mine. The statements I made during my visit to the President are recorded, and they had nothing to do with politics or the NPP.”
Clarifying the context of his visit, Mr. Pianim said he had emphasized the need for bipartisan cooperation to safeguard Ghana’s democratic future. “I’ve said repeatedly to the NPP: get your act together. Young people are losing faith in democracy. They’re drawn to strongman figures like Toare, but I believe we need democracy—and for that to work, we need both the NPP and NDC to cooperate and protect our democratic system.”
The fake statement, attributed to “Mr. Mpianim,” reads:
“If someone had told me eight years ago that Ghana could be governed this effectively—with just 60 ministers, not a single scandal in eight months, and an economy managed so productively and prudently without a superfluous economic management team and digital head—I would never have believed it. This is yet another clear reason why the NPP is destined to remain in opposition for the next twelve years.”
While the statement was signed by a “Mr. Mpianim,” the inclusion of Kwame Pianim’s image alongside President Mahama led many to wrongly assume he authored it—something he has now firmly debunked.
