Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has cautioned against economic indiscipline, warning that Ghana risks sliding back into crisis if it fails to sustain ongoing reforms following the conclusion of its International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Credit Facility programme.
He said government is focused on ensuring that current policy measures remain sustainable to prevent a return to what he described as “the good old bad days” when the country was forced into emergency bailout arrangements.
“What we seek to do is to make sure that whatever we do today is sustainable, so that we don’t go back to the good old bad days, where we get to an emergency situation that we have to go to the IMF,” he stated.
Dr. Forson stressed that government is implementing safeguards to ensure Ghana does not repeatedly resort to external bailouts, noting that while the country does not expect to return to IMF support, discipline must remain a priority.
“We are putting in place measures so that we don’t have to go for a bailout. We believe that we do not have a need to go for a bailout every day, but it doesn’t mean we should let our guard. It means that we don’t have to be complacent in order to work harder,” he explained.
He added that sustaining macroeconomic stability is key to attracting private investment and supporting long-term growth.
“We need to sustain the gains of economic stability to be able to attract private investment into our country and be able to build on it for sustainable growth,” he said.
The Finance Minister also emphasised that the end of the IMF programme should not be interpreted as a signal for relaxed fiscal management.
“So, bailout is out of the equation,” he said, while warning that economic indiscipline remains a major risk factor for reversal of gains.
Recalling Ghana’s past economic challenges, Dr. Forson noted that indiscipline has repeatedly contributed to the country’s return to IMF-supported programmes.
“When I was a deputy minister here we often said that as for indiscipline, there’s always a price for indiscipline,” he stated.
He explained that poor fiscal behaviour, including rapid depletion of reserves, has historically undermined periods of economic recovery.
“Clearly, indiscipline is what has landed Ghana on a number of bailout programs, because largely, we depleted our reserves so fast, and then we enjoyed the benefits of consolidation so quickly, and in the end, we’re going back to where we don’t have to be,” he said.
Dr. Forson stressed that government’s current focus is to consolidate gains made under the IMF-supported programme and build a stronger foundation for sustained economic growth.
“What we seek to do going forward is to build on the momentum that this ECF has created for all of us and sustain it for a very long time so that the country can benefit from it,” he added.