Finance Analyst, Richmond Eduku, has added his voice to ongoing discussions surrounding Ghana’s economic performance, emphasizing that structural weaknesses in the country’s economy predated the COVID-19 pandemic.
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His comments come in response to the World Bank’s 2025 Policy Notes titled “Transforming Ghana in a Generation.”
The World Bank’s report underscores the assertion that the 2022 macroeconomic crisis was not caused by the pandemic or the Russia-Ukraine war. Rather, these global shocks exposed vulnerabilities that had long existed, including high public debt, persistent fiscal deficits, weak revenue mobilisation, and slowing sectoral growth.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, September 28, Richmond Eduku wrote, “Excessive borrowing and fiscal indiscipline weakened Ghana’s economy before COVID.”
According to Eduku, key macroeconomic indicators illustrate how the economy was already on a precarious trajectory.
He said public debt rose from 56% of GDP in 2016 to 62% by 2019, while fiscal deficits consistently exceeded the recommended 5% threshold, often financed through short-term borrowing.
“Alarmingly, the government increasingly relied on debt even to pay salaries and statutory obligations, rather than investing in productive sectors that could sustain growth.
Sectoral performance further reflected the fragility. Agriculture growth slowed from 6.2% in 2017 to 4.7% in 2019, while industry, historically the driver of structural transformation, fell sharply from 15.6% in 2017 to -3.6% in 2020, signalling contraction before the arrival of COVID-19.
“Services, which typically provide stability during economic shocks, stagnated at 2.3%, indicating that the economy was losing momentum across all major sectors,” he said.
Mr. Eduku emphasized that while the pandemic and global events such as the Russia-Ukraine war worsened conditions, they were not the primary causes of the crisis.
According to him, they exposed systemic weaknesses, including an over reliance on debt, fiscal mismanagement, and structural inefficiencies in key sectors such as industry and agriculture.
“The industry sector’s contraction in 2020, even before COVID-19, was a clear warning that Ghana’s growth model was unsustainable,” Eduku added.
He noted that temporary booms in extractives and construction had masked deeper weaknesses in the economy, leaving the country vulnerable when external shocks occurred.
Eduku said Ghana’s economic challenges are largely homegrown.
According to him, without addressing the underlying structural issues, such as excessive borrowing, weak fiscal discipline, and sectoral stagnation, the economy will remain vulnerable to both internal inefficiencies and external shocks.
