POLICY BRIEF No. 20 – A REVIEW OF GHANA’S PRESENT FISCAL AND MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE WITH REFERENCE TO THE 2024 MID YEAR FISCAL POLICY REVIEW OF THE GOVERNMENT
August 18, 2024
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE 2025 BUDGETSTATEMENT AND ECONOMIC POLICY OFTHE GOVERNMENT OF GHANA
May 12, 2025
Ghana’s economic health has been very poor in recent years. Over the past three years, the country has suffered debt crisis, macroeconomic instability, and low growth, which have led to declining living standards, worsening unemployment, and disaffection with the government. This was caused by an extended period of sharp debt buildups and large debt service payments, which eventually led, in early 2022, to downgrades in Ghana’s credit ratings and thus loss of access to the international bond market. Since the past administration started implementing the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-supported program in 2023 to address the crisis, the extraordinarily harsh conditions that existed initially in 2022, when the crisis began, have improved. Yet, the economy has not recovered its footing, with fiscal, macroeconomic, and growth conditions remaining very challenging. At the same time, other critical issues which frustrate long-term economic development continue to endure.