Ghana has struggled to sustain a shared economic direction after Dr Nkrumah – Ato Forson

Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson says Ghana has struggled to maintain a consistent economic direction since the era of its first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, limiting the country's ability to fully realise its economic potential.

According to him, successive governments had pursued development initiatives, but frequent changes in policy direction, economic instability and repeated efforts to recover from crises had disrupted the country's progress.

Presenting the 2027 Budget in Parliament on Thursday, November 12, Dr Forson said Ghana had entered independence with significant natural and human resources and the potential to become an industrial nation.

He said Dr Nkrumah recognised that political independence had to be accompanied by economic emancipation and pursued an industrialisation agenda supported by investments in power infrastructure, education and state institutions.

“The bare truth is that, Mr Speaker, after Dr Nkrumah, our nation has struggled to sustain a shared economic direction long enough to fulfil its potential,” he said.

“Governments have built, businesses have grown, yet these have too often been interrupted intermittently by instability, changes in direction, and the urgent work of repairing another crisis. We have grown, Mr Speaker, but we have not built enough resilience into that growth.”

Dr Forson said Ghana's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth averaged 5.2 per cent between 1990 and 2025, demonstrating the country's capacity for economic expansion.

However, he said that the average concealed significant volatility, largely driven by the country's dependence on commodity exports.

He explained that periods of rising commodity prices had boosted government revenue and economic confidence, but falling prices and weakened fiscal discipline had often put pressure on the cedi, pushed up inflation and interest rates, and discouraged investment.

According to him, Ghana's dependence on raw commodities, particularly gold, cocoa and oil, had deepened these economic vulnerabilities.

"Gold, cocoa, and later oil dominated exports, where extractive industries accounted for about 16% of GDP growth over the last decade. The result is an economy that can post growth figures while leaving too many citizens outside the promise of that growth."

The Finance Minister said the country's economic growth had also not translated into sufficient employment opportunities for its population.

He cited an unemployment rate of about 12.8 per cent in January 2025, despite more than three decades of economic expansion.

“Mr Speaker, the best measure of an economy must be an improvement in the quality of life,” he said.