Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Theo Acheampong, has stated that it is not necessary for Ghana to return to the international capital market at the moment.
Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Dr. Acheampong explained that market conditions typically determine whether it is necessary for government to access the market, and that government does not currently need to do so.
“I know the investor sentiments and I know how the narrative is sort of framed, but you also have to think about, as a sovereign, as a country, what do you want to go there for? It is not to say you wouldn’t go. But to the extent that you need liquidity, money, and all of that to support your budget, we’ve said and the Minister made it very clear that in the medium term, you only go if the markets and the market conditions are right. As we speak currently, there is no need for Ghana to go to the external capital market for any form of borrowing in that sense,” he stated.
Dr. Acheampong also addressed recent conversations around the gap between the IMF’s growth projections and the government’s own figures, following the IMF’s recent forecast that Ghana’s economy will grow by 5.7% in 2026, above the government’s own projection of around 4.8%.
He explained that the government would rather set a more conservative projection and go on to meet or exceed it, than set a higher projection and fall short of it, arguing that missing an ambitious target would attract the same public criticism as being seen as too cautious in the first place.
“The quick response to that is: would we rather have numbers that you actually end up not achieving, and therefore have those same market participants come in and, in a sense, hit you for that?” he added.
His response follows the IMF’s revised growth forecast, which exceeds the government’s own 4.8 per cent target outlined in the 2026 Budget a gap that has drawn public criticism over the government’s methodology in arriving at its projections.
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