Finance Minister presents Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy to Parliament

The Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has presented a new policy aimed at boosting Ghana’s external reserves and shielding the economy from future shocks.

The policy, dubbed the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP), was unveiled in Parliament on Wednesday, February 25.

It seeks to raise the country’s gross international reserves to the equivalent of 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028.

Addressing the House, Dr. Ato Forson said, “Ghana achieved a decisive macroeconomic turnaround in 2025 following the 2022–2023 economic crisis.”

He outlined key gains recorded by the end of 2025, including average real GDP growth of 6.1 percent in the first three quarters, a sharp drop in inflation from 23.8 percent in 2024 to 3.8 percent in January 2026, and a significant fall in Treasury bill rates.

He further noted that public debt declined from 61.8 percent of GDP in 2024 to 45.3 percent, while the current account surplus rose to US$9.1 billion.

Gross international reserves also increased to US$13.8 billion, representing 5.7 months of import cover.

Despite the gains, the Minister noted that the current reserve level remains inadequate to fully cushion the economy against external shocks.

“This is however not sufficient to provide adequate self-insurance against disruptive economic shocks and its impact on the exchange rate like the historical cedi depreciation in 2022–2023,” he said.

Dr. Ato Forson explained that Cabinet has approved GANRAP as a strategic framework to strengthen Ghana’s external resilience.

The policy is anchored on the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which mandates the Ghana Gold Board to generate foreign exchange and support gold reserve accumulation by the Bank of Ghana.

He said the policy is also informed by the country's history of economic downturns and heavy reliance on gold, cocoa and crude oil exports.