Ghana’s ability to finance its development priorities without excessive dependence on external creditors will depend on stronger domestic revenue mobilisation, improved public financial management and increased investment in productive sectors, the AfriKan Continental Union Consult (ACUC) has said.
The organisation’s Leader, Mr Benjamin Anyagre Aziginaateeg, said the country needed to build sufficient domestic financial capacity to determine its economic priorities and reduce its exposure to external financing conditions.
He said reducing reliance on International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes and external borrowing should be pursued through deliberate efforts to strengthen the country’s revenue base, expand local production and improve the efficiency of public spending.
He explained that economic sovereignty did not require Ghana to abandon international cooperation but to build an economy strong enough to negotiate financing arrangements and partnerships from a position of strength.
Mr Aziginaateeg cited the IMF’s July 2026 assessment, which indicated that Ghana could potentially reduce its primary surplus target from 1.5% of Gross Domestic Product in 2026 to 0.5% from 2027, subject to continued fiscal reforms and debt sustainability.
He said the projected fiscal adjustment could create room for increased development expenditure and social investment, provided the government strengthened revenue collection and maintained effective public financial management.
However, he cautioned that any expansion in development spending must be supported by sustainable domestic revenue rather than renewed dependence on borrowing.
Ghana’s revenue and grants reached GH¢99.4 billion in the first half of 2026, representing a 29% increase over the corresponding period in 2025. However, the outturn fell approximately 10% short of the programmed target of GH¢110.4 billion.
Mr Aziginaateeg said the revenue gap highlighted the need for innovative approaches to improve collection and address weaknesses in the country’s revenue administration system.
He called for stronger revenue mobilisation across mining, petroleum, property taxation, the digital economy and public enterprises, arguing that these sectors offered opportunities to increase government income without placing additional pressure on struggling households and productive businesses.
He also recommended reviews of mining concessions, royalty arrangements, tax exemptions and revenue-sharing agreements to ensure that Ghana secured appropriate returns from its natural resources.
On trade and customs administration, he urged the government to strengthen border controls and address smuggling and under-invoicing, which undermine domestic revenue collection.
He further called for improvements in the operational efficiency of state-owned enterprises to ensure that they generated appropriate returns and paid dividends to the state.
Mr Aziginaateeg proposed periodic cost-benefit assessments of tax exemptions to identify and eliminate unjustified concessions, while advocating simplified and accessible taxation systems for informal sector operators to encourage voluntary compliance.
He said broadening the tax base, improving compliance and ensuring that taxpayers contributed according to their economic capacity should take precedence over increasing the tax burden on existing taxpayers.
Beyond revenue mobilisation, he said Ghana needed to strengthen agriculture, manufacturing, local production and small businesses to reduce its dependence on imported goods and build a more resilient domestic economy.
He called for increased investment in decent employment, social protection, rural development and essential public services, arguing that economic growth must translate into improved livelihoods.
He also urged stronger measures against illicit financial flows, transfer mispricing, corruption and the concealment of taxable wealth.
Public procurement systems, he said, required tighter controls to eliminate inflated contracts, corruption and expenditure leakages that diverted resources from development priorities.
Mr Aziginaateeg said the 2027 Budget should mark a shift from macroeconomic recovery towards economic transformation, with greater emphasis on domestic resource mobilisation and national control over development priorities.
He stressed that Ghana’s long-term economic independence would depend on its ability to finance development through domestic resources, strengthen productive capacity and ensure that revenue generated from the economy delivered tangible benefits to citizens.
