Ghana’s economic recovery remains fragile and incomplete despite recent improvements in key macroeconomic indicators, Dr. Daniel Anim-Prempeh, Chief Economist at the Public Initiative for Economic Development (PIED), has cautioned.
He warned the government against celebrating the recovery too early, stressing that the economy had not yet built the resilience required to sustain long-term growth.
Speaking in an interview on current economic conditions, Dr. Anim-Prempeh urged authorities to use the recent macroeconomic gains as an opportunity to accelerate economic expansion, particularly by strengthening the country’s manufacturing sector.
Ghana’s economy has recently shown signs of stabilisation. Inflation has declined significantly from over 50 per cent in December 2022 to 3.8 per cent in January 2026.
The Ghana cedi has also appreciated considerably, gaining 40.7 percent against the US dollar, 30.9 percent against the British pound sterling and 24 percent against the euro.
In his State of the Nation Address delivered on February 27, President John Dramani Mahama noted that Ghana’s gross international reserves had reached US$13.8 billion, enough to cover about 5.7 months of imports.
He also stated that the country’s public debt had declined by GH¢82.1 billion, bringing the debt-to-GDP ratio down from 61.8 percent to 45.3 percent.
Additionally, Ghana settled US$1.4 billion in debt service obligations in 2025 as part of efforts to restore confidence among international partners.
Despite these gains, Dr. Anim-Prempeh said the country still faced significant economic challenges.
“We are not totally out of our economic mess. We still have an issue with the cocoa sector, we’re still battling electricity challenges, and government has yet to pay outstanding salaries of some workers. This indicates that the resources are not available in sufficient quantities to address all these issues,” he said.
He acknowledged that policy reforms under the US$3 billion programme supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), alongside domestic economic measures, had helped restore a level of macroeconomic stability following the economic crisis that led to Ghana’s debt default and restructuring between 2022 and 2023.
However, he cautioned that sustaining the progress would require continued fiscal discipline and prudent economic management.
“The government must tread cautiously because persistent challenges remain in critical sectors, and this requires sustained fiscal discipline and careful management to maintain the gains achieved under the IMF programme,” he said.
Dr. Anim-Prempeh emphasised the need to strengthen Ghana’s productive capacity, particularly by expanding the country’s manufacturing base to reduce heavy reliance on imports.
According to him, building a strong local production base would help reduce the importation of non-essential goods and ease pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
“We need to build a strong production base. Our manufacturing sector must be strong. It is only then that we can reduce the importation of unnecessary items into the economy and ease the pressure on our reserves while strengthening our foreign exchange position,” he explained.
The economist also stressed that sustainable economic recovery would depend heavily on supporting the private sector to generate employment opportunities for the country’s growing youth population.
He pointed to incentives under the government’s proposed 24-hour economy initiative, which include tax exemptions for the importation of machinery used in manufacturing, solar and renewable energy inputs, raw materials not available locally, vehicles and logistics equipment.
Additional incentives also include corporate income tax exemptions for farming activities in strategic value chains.
“Supporting the private sector to create sustainable jobs for the teeming youth is very critical. These are key measures that need to be implemented. It will not be easy, but with focus and commitment, it can be achieved,” he said.
Dr. Anim-Prempeh further raised concerns about the country’s economic outlook after the completion of the IMF programme.
“Going forward, the big question is how we are going to sustain the gains after the IMF programme ends. Are we going to maintain the fiscal discipline required to ensure sustained macroeconomic performance?” he asked.
He urged the Ministry of Finance and economic managers to demonstrate strong commitment to fiscal discipline even without direct IMF oversight.
Dr. Anim-Prempeh also cautioned against complacency, warning that the recovery could easily be undermined by policy reversals, external economic shocks or excessive government spending, particularly during election periods.
