August 19, 2017

The Mid-Year Review of the 2018 Budget Statement & Economic Policy

Fiscal Alert 7: The Mid-Year Review of the 2018 Budget Statement & Economic Policy The Minister for Finance presented the 2017 Mid-Year Budget and Fiscal Policy Review to Parliament on 31st July 2017. Prior to the review, IFS issued an assessment of the performance of the economy and the budget and made recommendations to address shortcomings that it had identified. During IFS’ pre-Mid-Year Review assessment, most of the data available at the time was up to April. The Minister, however, provided updated data in his review in most cases up to June. The IFS has critically looked at the Mid-Year […]
October 5, 2017

Mobilizing Adequate Domestic Revenue to Support Ghana’s Development

Fiscal Alert 8: Mobilizing Adequate Domestic Revenue to Support Ghana’s Development This paper seeks to show how domestic revenue mobilization can be significantly enhanced to pave way for the formulation of a credible 2018 Budgets to support Ghana’s develop- meant. Read full paper here: Fiscal Alert 8
January 25, 2018

Is Ghana in a Debt Trap?

Fiscal Alert 9: Is Ghana in a Debt Trap? In tabling the Budget for 2018, the government outlined its strategy to bring the public debt on a declining path to eliminate the risk of debt distress and strengthen the country’s debt sustainability. This paper, which is an extract of IFS’s review of the 2018 and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana, provides comments and some policy suggestions to help address Ghana’s rising debt problem. Read full paper here
February 22, 2018

Implications of Energy Sector State-Owned Enterprises Debt Restructuring for the Fiscal Position and the Banking Sector

Fiscal Alert 10: Implications of Energy Sector State-Owned Enterprises Debt Restructuring for the Fiscal Position and the Banking Sector This paper seeks to assess the implications of the restructuring of the energy sector State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) debt for Ghana’s fiscal position and the banking sector. The paper reviews the financial performance of Ghana’s energy sector SOEs, the restructuring of the energy sector debt examines the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA) and the energy sector bonds. This is followed by a discussion of the implications of the energy sector debt restructuring for the government’s fiscal position and the banking sector, respectively. […]
March 12, 2018

Ghana’s Growing Public Debt and Its Implications for the Economy

Fiscal Alert 11: Ghana’s Growing Public Debt and Its Implications for the Economy Rising public expenditures in the context of persistently weak revenue performance have undermined Ghana’s fiscal and debt sustainability in recent years. As the coun- try’s fiscal risks remained high, credible fiscal consolidation was required to reverse the unfavorable debt dynamics and reduce domestic refinancing risks. The fiscal management strategy of the new government that came into office in January 2017 aims at restoring fiscal discipline, reversing the fiscal deterioration it inherited and putting the public debt on a downward and sustainable path. Unfortunately, it does not appear that […]
May 8, 2018

Ghana’s Economic Development: Past, Present and the Future.

Fiscal Alert 12: Ghana’s Economic Development: Past, Present and the Future. After a successful implementation of an unprecedented program of economic recovery over a decade, perceived by the international community as an example of adjustment with growth and a model for the rest of Africa, Ghana held its first multi-party elections in 1992, taking a decisive step to return to multi-party democratic rule. This paper focuses on Ghana’s economic development since the return to multi-party democracy in 1993. It starts with a review of economic management during the transition period (1992) to provide the context for the move to multi-party […]