No More Begging, No More Bailouts …Finance Minister Declares

Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson told Parliament last Thursday that Ghana has successfully concluded the final review of its current IMF bailout programme and vowed the country is not going back for an 18th one.

“We have evolved from a position of ‘supplicant’ to one of ‘partner’,” the Minister said, as he walked lawmakers through a raft of economic indicators that he said pointed to a “consequential moment” in the President’s Reset Agenda.

Real GDP growth hit 6.0% in 2025 – the highest since COVID turned the world upside down. Even more telling, non-oil GDP expanded by 7.6%, the strongest in 14 years. Ghana’s economy, Dr. Forson announced, has now crossed the US 100 billion threshold for the first time, ranking as the 8^th largest in Africa, with per capita income rising to US3,385.

According to the figures Dr. Forson presented to the House, inflation has dropped from 23.8% in December 2024 to just 3.4% as of April 2026.

He said the Cedi appreciated by 40.7% against the US dollar in 2025 alone. And the public debt-to-GDP ratio, which stood at a worrying 61.8% in 2024, has been cut sharply to 44.7% at the end of 2025, hitting the 45% target years ahead of schedule.

Dr. Forson also told Parliament that the monetary policy rate has been slashed by 1,300 basis points, from 27% in January 2025 to 14.0% in April 2026. The 91-day Treasury bill rate, which was strangling businesses, fell by over 2,300 basis points to 4.8%.

According to the Finance Minister, the John Mahama administration moved quickly after assuming office to “reset” the economy. He listed a number of measures: a new Public Financial Management commitment authorisation to rein in spending, an audit of government arrears, amendments to the PFM Act locking in a 1.5% of GDP primary surplus and a 45% debt-to-GDP target by 2034, and the creation of GOLDBOD to help stabilise the foreign exchange market.

The government also scrapped what many had come to call “nuisance taxes” – the E-Levy, Betting Tax, Emissions Levy, and VAT on motor insurance. It reduced ministers of state from a bloated 123 (later 88) to 60, and cut government ministries from 30 to 23.

Dr. Forson further reported that the primary balance recorded a surplus of 2.5% of GDP in 2025, while the debt service-to-domestic revenue ratio fell from 55.7% in the dark days of 2022 to 28.8% in 2025 – this, he emphasised, even after Ghana resumed full Eurobond obligations.

With the Extended Credit Facility now in the rearview mirror, Ghana’s engagement with the IMF will shift to what is called a Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI). In plain language, it is a non-financing arrangement for countries that do not need IMF cash but still want a credible reform framework, regular policy checks, and a strong signal to investors.

“The PCI will enable us to continue leveraging the IMF’s regular policy assessments and expertise as a signal to investors, thereby certifying the credibility of our stewardship and further strengthening our credit rating,” Forson explained.

He also revealed that the President’s team has already designed a new economic programme – simply called “The New Economy” – to be unveiled in the 2027 Budget. That, he said, would move Ghana “from stabilisation to transformation, with a clear focus on sustainable jobs, higher productivity, greater resilience, and broad-based prosperity.”

Before wrapping up, Dr. Forson took a moment to remind the House why all this mattered and why it should never be undone.

“Mr. Speaker, some painful experiences cannot be taught,” he said. “They must be lived to be understood. But once experienced, never again should they be repeated.”

The IMF Executive Board is expected to give its final approval to the programme’s conclusion in the coming weeks. For now, government officials are breathing heavily – not from panic, but from something that has been in short supply for a while: relief.