Ghana should consolidate recent macroeconomic stability while pivoting toward targeted infrastructure investment and private-sector-led growth as President John Dramani Mahama’s administration enters its second year, this is according to economist and Methodist University vice chancellor William Baah-Boateng.
Speaking on John Mahama 2.0: Thematic Assessment of Year One on Channel One TV, Prof. Baah-Boateng said the immediate priority should be to preserve the hard-won stability and address residual policy frictions that could undermine confidence.
He cited the domestic gold purchase programme as one area requiring refinement, saying early implementation challenges are typical when new frameworks are introduced. “Anytime you start a new model, you will have some challenges,” he said, adding that cost-sharing arrangements and operational design should be reviewed to ensure durability.
Prof. Baah-Boateng said inflation in the upper single digits would be consistent with long-term economic fundamentals and provide predictability for businesses. He urged the Bank of Ghana to limit exchange-rate volatility to within a 5% band to support planning and reduce uncertainty for importers and exporters.
With stability in place, the government should accelerate investment in infrastructure, he said, but warned against overreliance on public borrowing. Infrastructure development, he argued, should be tightly targeted and financed through public-private partnerships so projects can generate their own returns.
“It is not bad to borrow, but you must borrow strategically,” Prof. Baah-Boateng said, adding that debt raised from capital markets should fund revenue-generating assets such as gas pipelines, airports and tolled expressways rather than budget support. Roads that are not tolled, he said, leave government exposed to maintenance costs without a clear revenue stream.
Prof. Baah-Boateng linked Ghana’s high debt levels in part to the upfront financing of infrastructure that does not pay for itself, creating long-term fiscal pressure. Structuring projects to be self-financing, he said, would prevent a repeat of the debt overhang that has constrained policy space in recent years.
Beyond infrastructure, he said the focus must shift decisively to the real economy, particularly industrialisation and the modernisation of agriculture. Job creation, he cautioned, cannot be driven by an expanding public payroll. “It is the private sector that creates jobs,” he said, with government’s role limited to facilitation and support.
He added that export-led growth is essential to sustaining currency stability over the long term. While gold exports have helped rebuild reserves, he said reliance on a finite commodity cannot underpin lasting stability. Instead, he urged the government to align its 24-hour economy policy with export-oriented production in manufacturing and agribusiness.
Prof. Baah-Boateng concluded that employment strategies must deliberately include young people, warning that growth without broad-based job creation risks undermining social and economic gains. As the administration moves into its second year, he said, success will depend on translating macro stability into productive investment, exports and sustainable private-sector employment.
