President John Dramani Mahama says Ghana has successfully restored stability to its economy after overcoming setbacks that had threatened the country’s programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Addressing a Diaspora Town Hall Meeting in London, the President said his administration inherited an IMF Extended Credit Facility programme that had gone off track after key performance targets were missed before his government assumed office.
According to him, extensive engagements with IMF officials revealed that several commitments under the programme had not been met, forcing the government to implement difficult but necessary corrective measures.
“We had to take very strong decisions,” he said, adding that the sacrifices made by Ghanaians had begun yielding results.
President Mahama noted that Ghana has now regained macroeconomic stability, with key economic indicators showing positive trends.
“The macroeconomy is stable and all the indicators are looking very much in the right direction,” he told the gathering.
He said Ghana’s economic turnaround has attracted international recognition, describing the country as a model for economic recovery among developing economies.
“Anytime they go for the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF, everybody is pointing to Ghana and saying, go to Ghana and learn how they did it,” he stated.
The President also highlighted strong growth outside the petroleum sector, describing non-oil growth as a critical measure of economic health.
He said Ghana recorded more than seven percent non-oil growth, indicating progress in agriculture, manufacturing, information technology and other productive sectors.
On the energy front, President Mahama announced plans for a nationwide upgrade of electricity distribution infrastructure, including the replacement of aging transformers to improve power reliability.
He further disclosed that government has worked to restore confidence in the energy sector by reducing outstanding debts owed to power producers and gas suppliers.
The President revealed that agreements have been signed with international partners to invest billions of dollars in expanding oil and gas production, while efforts are also underway to increase local value addition through domestic refining of Ghana’s crude oil.
He said government is preparing to supply Ghanaian crude oil to the Tema Oil Refinery for processing, describing the move as a significant step toward reducing dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
President Mahama maintained that his administration’s focus remains on sustaining economic recovery, promoting industrialisation and creating jobs through local production and value addition.
