NPP government achieved significant GDP growth, better debt management – Ato Forson concedes

The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has acknowledged significant GDP growth and the debt-to-GDP ratio recorded under the previous government at the end of 2024.

In his first budget presentation to Parliament on Tuesday, the Finance Minister said Ghana’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded significant growth in 2024 – a development the Statistical Service of Ghana confirmed on Monday.

The Statistical Service announced that Ghana’s GDP growth rate had exceeded expectations, with a 5.7 growth rate at the end of 2024, which exceeded the budget projection of 3.1.

In his address in Parliament, Dr Forson stated the above development, reechoing that the economy showed strong resilience, posting higher-than-expected growth despite prevailing global and domestic challenges.

“Ghana’s real GDP growth in 2024 was remarkable, exceeding projections and demonstrating our economy’s capacity for recovery,” said Dr. Ato Forson.

The Finance Minister added noted that the remarkable growth, reflects the effectiveness of various economic policies implemented over the past year.

He, however, expressed the view that aspects of the growth included proceeds from illegal small-scale mining, commonly known as ‘galamsey, ” and he acknowledged its impact on the economy.

Dr. Ato Forson also acknowledged Ghana’s improved debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of last year under the previous government.

Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio significantly improved to 65.7%.