Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has assured Ghanaians that the government will not contract additional loans to finance its proposed New Economy Programme, insisting that the initiative will be funded through domestic revenue and savings from fiscal consolidation.
He said the government intends to allocate 1.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually to the programme between 2027 and 2030 without increasing the country’s public debt.
Dr Ato Forson gave the assurance during an interactive engagement with students and members of the university community at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where he addressed concerns about the programme’s funding arrangements.
According to him, the funding will come from two main sources: an allocation of 0.5 per cent of GDP from government revenue and a reduction in the primary surplus target from 1.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent of GDP.
He explained that the two measures would create the necessary fiscal space for the programme, with total funding potentially reaching at least US$13 billion over the four-year period.
The Finance Minister also clarified that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) does not generate revenue for the Ministry of Finance or the government, explaining that the state relies mainly on direct taxes, indirect taxes and non-tax revenue.
Dr Ato Forson further reaffirmed the government’s commitment to debt sustainability, including its target of reducing public debt to 45 per cent of GDP by 2028.
He cited improvements in Ghana’s primary balance as evidence of progress, noting that the country recorded a primary surplus of 2.5 per cent of GDP in 2025, with a further surplus of 1.5 per cent expected in 2026.
He said the two surpluses would collectively contribute to a debt reduction equivalent to approximately 4 per cent of GDP.
However, from 2027, the government plans to slow the pace of debt reduction to 0.5 per cent of GDP annually to create additional fiscal space for investments under the New Economy Programme.
Dr Ato Forson maintained that the proposed funding arrangement would allow the government to pursue its economic transformation agenda while keeping public debt on a declining path.
