Ghana’s recent economic improvement is genuine but remains vulnerable without sustained fiscal and policy discipline, the International Monetary Fund’s resident representative in the country, Dr Adrian Alter, has warned.
Speaking on Tuesday, November 10, at the 15th Ghana Economic Forum in Accra, Alter said the government needed to maintain its current approach to give investors confidence in the recovery.
The forum was hosted by the Business and Financial Times and took place two days before the presentation of the 2027 Budget. Alter said policy consistency would be important in encouraging investment over the longer term.
“Ghana’s stability is real, but it isn’t yet self-sustaining,” he told participants.
He said investors were looking for proof that Ghana could preserve its economic recovery over the next five to 10 years. Although recent indicators have improved, uncertainty remains over whether those gains can be maintained.
Alter said the need for dependable economic conditions reflected the length of most investment commitments, which generally run for at least five years. Predictable policies, he added, were therefore essential to decisions about where businesses should commit capital.
The IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Ghana on November 4 after completing an initial review of the country’s 36-month Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI). The programme tracks structural and fiscal reforms but does not provide financing.
Alter highlighted a series of stronger-than-expected macroeconomic results during 2026. Economic growth averaged 6.2 per cent in the first half of the year, supported mainly by investment following a solid performance in 2025.
Inflation had fallen to an average of 5.5 per cent by the end of October, bringing it within the Bank of Ghana’s target band. He also said faster-than-anticipated fiscal adjustment meant the primary balance was on course to meet its target of a surplus equivalent to 1.5 per cent of GDP.
The fiscal strategy for 2027, agreed with the IMF, rules out Eurobond issuance through 2030. The government is targeting a commitment-basis primary surplus equivalent to 0.5 per cent of GDP next year.
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson is due to present the 2027 Budget to Parliament on Thursday, November 12. The statement will outline the government’s revenue and spending plans.
Alter said those measures would need to reinforce policy continuity if Ghana is to sustain private investment and turn its recent economic progress into a more durable recovery.
