“Ghana Is Not Going Back” – Ato Forson Says Economy Has Turned the Corner

Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has declared that Ghana will not return to the economic difficulties that led the country to seek international support, insisting that government reforms have restored stability and placed the economy on a stronger footing.

Presenting the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament on Thursday, July 23, Dr Forson said fiscal discipline had been re-established, macroeconomic conditions had improved and investor confidence was gradually returning after years of economic turbulence.

“Under the leadership of His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, Ghana is not going back. Ghana is moving forward,” the Finance Minister told Parliament.

Dr Forson said recent gains in key economic indicators were beginning to translate into tangible benefits for households and businesses, citing lower inflation, a more stable cedi and easing interest rates.

“Purchasing power has improved because inflation has fallen. To the entrepreneur who can now borrow at lower interest rates to expand their businesses and to the worker whose income now stretches further because the cedi has stabilised,” he said.

“These improvements are not abstract statistics. They are the dividend of sound and competent economic management.”

He acknowledged that the reforms required significant sacrifices from Ghanaians but argued that the measures had laid a firmer foundation for long-term growth and stability.

“We recognise that the sacrifices required to restore the economy were significant and that many households continue to face challenges. But we also know that the foundations of Ghana’s economy are now firmly in place,” he said.

According to the Finance Minister, government has strengthened institutions responsible for protecting the country’s economic gains, while the next phase of reforms will focus on sustaining growth, preserving debt sustainability and improving resilience to future shocks.

Dr Forson also announced that the International Monetary Fund Executive Board is expected to approve the final review of Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility programme next week, paving the way for the country to transition into a new 36-month Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI).

He explained that the PCI is a non-financing arrangement designed for countries that no longer face balance-of-payments difficulties but wish to maintain a reform framework that supports macroeconomic stability.

“The PCI will anchor our next phase of reforms, strengthen macroeconomic resilience, support broad-based growth, and signal our unwavering commitment to sound and disciplined macroeconomic policy,” Dr Forson said.

He said the programme would focus on six priority areas: fiscal consolidation, debt sustainability, fiscal transparency, monetary and exchange rate reforms, financial sector stability and economic diversification.

The Finance Minister added that successful implementation of these reforms would strengthen Ghana’s prospects of regaining investment-grade status and improve access to concessional financing for development projects.

His declaration that “Ghana is not going back” is expected to become one of the defining messages of the Mid-Year Budget Review, as government seeks to present recent economic improvements as evidence of a broader recovery from Ghana’s worst economic crisis in decades.