Ghana has achieved five-year economic reset in 18 months – Theo Acheampong

Economist and political risk specialist Dr Theo Acheampong says Ghana has reset its economic fundamentals in about 18 months, achieving a turnaround he argues would typically take at least five years after a crisis.

The Finance Ministry Technical Advisor said the pace of recovery has prompted investors to question how the country achieved it.

Speaking to George Wiafe on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, he linked the turnaround to reforms in taxation, spending controls and payments to statutory funds.

“As we've always said, typically if you've gone through the crisis that Ghana has gone through, 2022 to 24, it will take you at least about five years to be able to reset right the fundamentals and the basics, and we've been able to do that in a year and a half.”

Acheampong said investors were seeing evidence of the changes in the economy’s fundamentals and Ghana’s improved ability to service its debt.

He pushed back against attributing the gains solely to commodity earnings.

“And it really rests on a number of things, and it's not just a commodity story. It's not just the gold story. It's really the hard reforms that have been done to try and sustain right those gains.”

On revenue, he said the tax-to-GDP ratio had risen from 11.5 per cent to close to 13 per cent. He did not provide a precise latest figure.

He also pointed to tighter controls over spending commitments and efforts to direct expenditure into the right areas.

Acheampong said inherited arrears had been cleared. He cited transfers to the District Assemblies Common Fund and the National Health Insurance Fund as further evidence of improved fiscal management.

“For the first time, we remain current on these funds.”

He said the required transfers had been made for the period from January to August or September of the year under discussion.

Previously, he said, January releases could take until September to arrive.

For Acheampong, those payments form part of the evidence underpinning Ghana’s message to investors. His argument is that the turnaround extends beyond favourable commodity earnings to changes in how the government collects, spends and releases money.

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