President John Dramani Mahama has reiterated that Ghana is not in a hurry to return to the international capital market to borrow for development, stressing that the country will instead continue to manage its finances prudently.
He explained that recent macroeconomic gains, achieved without external borrowing, demonstrate Ghana’s ability to grow the economy through investment in priority areas and strict fiscal discipline.
Speaking at his first media encounter on Wednesday evening, the President asked: “Who would have thought some years ago that Ghana’s economy would be run without going to the external market to borrow? … yet we’ve survived.”
He added: “So, we shouldn’t be in a hurry to go back to the capital market. I will not favour a quick return to the capital market.”
Ghana lost access to the international capital market in 2022 due to high debt, sluggish growth, and a weak balance of payments. This forced the country to seek a US$3 billion loan facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Since the programme’s implementation, the economy has shown signs of recovery, with notable improvements in the past eight months despite setbacks during the December 2024 elections.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service, the economy expanded by 6.3% in the second quarter of 2025, driven largely by a 9.9% growth in the Services sector. Inflation also slowed to 11.5% in August from 12.1% in July — the lowest in nearly four years and the eighth consecutive month of decline.
President Mahama credited these gains to prudent, people-centered economic management. “Prudent and people-centred economic management plan has resulted in the removal of nuisance taxes, stabilisation of the exchange rate, and a reduction in the cost of doing business,” he said.
“All we’ve done is to reorder our expenditure and push funds to areas that are our priority — fiscal discipline — not spending money on wasteful political interventions, and that is already showing the successes in the market,” he added.
The President further noted that Ghana has shifted from a negative 3.4% primary balance to a positive 1.1%, expressing optimism about surpassing the 1.5% target by the end of 2025.
He stressed the importance of consolidating these macroeconomic gains before seeking external financing. “We’re here to reset Ghana, to restore the soul of our nation, to revive its economy, reignite the spirit of hope and possibility in every Ghanaian,” Mahama declared.