Mid-year budget review: 'The economy we inherited was marked by massive debts' — Dr. Ato Forson

Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson

The Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has described the economy inherited by the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress administration as one burdened with massive debts and fiscal instability.

Dr. Ato Forson said the country was in financial distress when the NDC took over on January 7, 2025, with weakened institutions, ballooning arrears, and severe investor anxiety.

Delivering the 2025 mid-year budget review in Parliament on Thursday, July 24, the minister said the previous New Patriotic Party government’s reckless spending left the nation on the brink of insolvency.

He noted that public confidence in the economy had completely collapsed, with the cedi depreciating to historic lows and being ranked as the worst-performing currency in the world at the time.

“The economy we inherited was marked by massive debts, huge arrears of MDAs, weakened institutions and heightened public anxiety with large fiscal imbalances,” Dr. Ato Forson said.

He added that corruption in the public sector had peaked under the previous administration, while mismanagement had widened the deficit and drained investor confidence.

Despite the challenges, the Finance Minister said things are beginning to turn around.

He cited a 5.3 percent growth in the first quarter of 2025, the highest since 2020, which he said, was driven largely by strong performance in agriculture and ICT under the services sector.

He also revealed that the country’s total public debt reduced from GH¢726.7 billion at the end of December 2024 to GH¢613 billion by the end of June 2025 — a reduction of GH¢113.7 billion within a six-month period.