Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has
stated that Ghana’s previous debt challenge was not only driven by fiscal deficits but also by the accumulation of liabilities by State-Owned Enterprises that went unchecked for years.
Delivering the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament on July 23, 2026, Dr. Forson explained that this revelation made it necessary for government to extend its Commitment Authorisation regime to cover State-Owned Enterprises.
The Finance Minister added that that excluding SOEs from the Commitment Authorisation regime would have rendered the framework incomplete and ultimately ineffective.
“It is therefore important to recognise that Ghana’s debt challenge was driven not only by fiscal deficits but also by the unchecked accumulation of liabilities by State-Owned Enterprises. That is precisely why the Commitment Authorisation regime would have been incomplete and ultimately ineffective had State-Owned Enterprises been excluded from its coverage,” he stated.
The Finance Minister added that despite the abolishment of many nuisance taxes since the current administration took office , government revenue has improved substantially.
“Despite abolishing multiple taxes and
introducing no new tax handles, non-oil tax revenue increased by 0.5 percent of GDP from 12.6 percent of GDP in 2024 to 13.1 percent of GDP in 2025.Simply put, Government collected more revenue in 2025 even after abolishing the nuisance taxes.”
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson also stated that the government through the Goldbod also gained an additional US$15 billion in forex inflows with this same intervention also increasing Ghana’s current account balance from a surplus of 1.9 percent of GDP in 2024 to 8.3 percent of GDP in 2025.
“Through this intervention, Ghana generated an additional US$15 billion in foreign
exchange inflows from gold, significantly strengthening reserve accumulation and
supporting exchange rate stability.This single policy measure improved Ghana’s current account balance by 6.4 percentage points, from a surplus of 1.9 percent of GDP in 2024 to 8.3 percent of GDP in 2025. This represents a four times increment of the current account surplus in just one year.” He said
He also added that “for the first time in our nation’s history, the size of Ghana’s economy
exceeded US$100 billion in 2025, firmly establishing Ghana as a major emerging
economy.”
The Finance Minister further disclosed that Ghana’s per capita income recorded its highest figure in the country’s history, rising by more than US$850 in just one year making Ghana the eighth-largest economy in Africa.
“Ghana’s per capita income increased by more than US$850 in just one year, rising from US$2,527 in 2024 to US$3,385 at the end of 2025. This is the highest per capita income ever recorded in our country’s history. It is therefore not surprising that Ghana is now recognised as the eighth-largest economy in Africa.” he added
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