The President, John Dramani Mahama, has stated that one year after assuming the reins of government, Ghana is back on track following several years of what he described as “general imprudence and reckless management of the economy” by the previous administration.
Delivering his message on the State of the Nation to Parliament in Accra on Friday, the President said the national malaise had been most evident in the economy, which was burdened by unsustainable debt, high inflation, a rapidly depreciating currency and a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
“I told this August House when I appeared before you last year that we would have to take tough, prudent and necessary decisions to restore stability and credibility. Today, I can say with confidence: Ghana is back. Ghana is working again and is open for business. The fundamentals are improving, and the path to sustained acceleration is clear,” he said to loud cheers from the Majority side of the House.
“From the outset, we resolved to choose discipline over waste, reform over excuses and stability over speculation. As a responsible government, our first order of business was to halt the economic haemorrhage and restore order to our public finances,” he announced.
President Mahama said the administration tightened expenditure and commitment controls, improved payables reporting and conducted a comprehensive audit of 2024 commitments to restore credibility and discipline.
These measures, he emphasised, have begun to deliver some of the most remarkable economic outcomes the country had seen in decades.
“Our nation is on the runway. It is in take-off mode, and you are all advised to fasten your seatbelts. The journey continues. But the direction is set. And the hope is real,” he noted.
He told lawmakers that Ghana’s GDP was expected to reach US$113 billion, up from US$83 billion at the end of 2024, placing the country among the top 10 largest economies in Africa.
The President further disclosed that average GDP growth for the first three quarters of 2025 was 6.1 per cent.
He said primary surplus stood at 2.6 per cent far exceeding the 1.5 per cent target while the fiscal deficit closed at 3.1 per cent, below the projected 3.8 per cent.
“This is not just prudent governance; it is promise-keeping. It has benefited households and businesses because we have borrowed less and spent more responsibly. Interest rates have fallen, confidence has returned, and private businesses are breathing again,” he explained.
Having inherited an economy unable to honour its debt obligations, the President indicated that a closer look at the country’s restructured debt profile showed that earlier negotiations had merely postponed repayments, with the largest obligations scheduled between 2025 and 2028.
“We confronted this crisis with action, not rhetoric. We established sinking funds, restructured obligations and pursued bilateral agreements. Public debt, President Mahama stated, fell by GH¢82.1 billion, from 61.8 per cent to 45.3 per cent of GDP. This is one of the sharpest reductions in our history.
turns and safeguard macroeconomic stability.
“We settled a US$709 million Eurobond ahead of schedule, completing US$1.4 billion in debt service for 2025. And the world noticed. Fitch, Moody’s and S&P all upgraded Ghana’s credit ratings — the first triple upgrade in years,” President Mahama disclosed.
“From a high of 23.5 per cent at the end of 2024, inflation has eased to 3.8 per cent in January 2026. Petrol prices have fallen from GH¢15.20 to GH¢10.70 per litre, while the cedi has appreciated by 40.7 per cent against the US dollar, 30.9 per cent against the British pound and 24 per cent against the euro, strengthening the purchasing power of Ghanaians,” he said.
He continue[d] that, “Ghana’s economic turnaround is broad-based and comprehensive. All sectors of the Ghanaian economy have witnessed remarkable improvement in the first year of my return to the Presidency.”
The President said that as global uncertainty grows, there was a need to reduce the country’s exposure to external shocks, break the cycle of economic downturns and safeguard macroeconomic stability.
“The dawn is breaking for Ghana. The moment we are in requires not only endurance but also action. It reminds us that renewal belongs to those who prepare for the morning while others still speak of darkness. For Ghana today, that dawn is not a promise we recite. It is a reality we must build into our institutions, our economy, and the ethic of responsibility we pass on to the next generation,” he underlined.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
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