Mahama’s Bold Move! Is This The End Of Ghana’s Economic Crisis?

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:08]Greetings to all Africans across the continent and throughout the diaspora.

[00:00:14]Today is Saturday, May 30th, 2026.

[00:00:18]Welcome to United States of Africa TV, where we bring you the latest developments, insights, and stories shaping Africa's future. My name is Akosa Prempe and I am broadcasting from the United States of Africa. In today's featured report, we focus on major economic developments in Ghana as President John Dammani Mahama calls for decisive reforms to improve the business environment and strengthen economic growth. We take a closer look at discussions from the 10th Ghana CEO Summit where government leaders, business executives, and economic experts explored practical solutions for job creation, investment expansion, digital transformation, and private sector development. We will also examine the government's plans to introduce a new economic framework in the 2027 national budget following Ghana's successful exit from the IMF program. In addition, we bring you updates on employment centered economic policies, proposed reforms within the Cocoa sector, efforts to improve transparency in the real estate industry, affordable housing initiatives, responsible corporate leadership, and a growing movement to ensure Africans tell Africa's story to the world. Before the report begins, please subscribe to United States of Africa TV. Give this video a thumbs up. Share your thoughts in the comments section and share this broadcast with friends and family on WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, X, Instagram, and all other social media platforms. Your support helps strengthen African unity, amplify African voices, and connect our people across borders.

[00:02:12]Now, let's turn to today's important report. President John Muhammad has called for bold and efficient economic reforms to reduce the cost of doing business in Ghana as policy makers and business leaders gather at the 10th Ghana CEO summit to discuss strategies for job growth creation and stability.

[00:02:29]More in this report.

[00:02:31]>> The 10th Ghana CEO summit brought together policy makers and business leaders to discuss reforms needed to drive economic growth, job creation and stability. President Junani Muhammad stressed the need for reforms to reduce the cost of doing business in Ghana.

[00:02:46]>> No country can accelerate transformation when businesses are slowed down by unclear procedures, overlapping mandates, and avoidable delays.

[00:02:56]A business person should not waste productive time shuttling between public offices to obtain routine approvals.

[00:03:05]A serious investor should not receive conflicting signals from agencies of the same state. A young entrepreneur should not abandon a promising idea simply because formalizing a business has become too cumbersome.

[00:03:21]Business regulatory reform is central to driving productivity and must be prioritized as a national goal. Clear procedures, reduce duplication, transparent rules, and faster service delivery all influence a business's decision to expand operations to hire more staff and compete more effectively in the export space. And so reform properly understood is about making the state work better for citizens and businesses alike. It is about reducing the cost of doing business, strengthening confidence and making Ghana a more competitive environment for production, processing, trading and exporting.

[00:04:03]>> Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson is called for a shift from economic recovery to transformation driven by stability and strong institutions.

[00:04:12]>> No economy can achieve sustainable transformation without a stable and resilient financial system. Financial stability is not an abstract concept that is reserved for regulators. It affects businesses seeking credit, entrepreneurs like yourselves that are pursuing expansion, households saving for the future, and investors that are evaluating risk.

[00:04:43]A stable financial system mobilizes savings efficiently. It allocates capital productively. It absorbs shocks and it supports economic expansion.

[00:04:57]>> Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Antony Quissy Sapon, highlighted tax reforms focus on efficiency through digital systems and artificial intelligence.

[00:05:07]>> We all know we introduce the AI capability to support our officers to be efficient, to be faster and to be accurate and fair in assessing uh tax values. uh this system went fully live in the month of April and we are happy to report that on the average our customs revenue per month was about 4.2 billion uh on the average however in April 2026 uh we are happy to record 5.2 2 billion an increment of our 1 billion in one month of deployment of the AI and we're also happy to report that in the month of May we are on course uh to achieve uh that same margin on the running average.

[00:05:49]>> The Lloyd Ghana's country managing partner Daniel Jojo Wu also called for economic diversification and digital driven growth to address youth unemployment.

[00:05:58]>> We have people that are finishing this university. Can the government create something similar to the loan system that they give to us when we are going to the university? If people have a good program, people have something that they want to do. Can the government for example introduce interest free facility to help these people to have a startup for example so that we all don't start and finishing and we are sitting somewhere waiting for some jobs to be created because if you and I could come together and we will create something like a construction firm and then the government recognizes that that will be the beginning of starting to do some of our feeder roads. The summit ended with a strong consensus on the need for coordinated reforms, digital transformation, and private sector collaboration to accelerate Ghana's economic future. The summit also served as a platform to honor some outstanding CEOs and business leaders.

[00:06:56]>> Finance Minister Dr. Castella Tufen has told Parliament that government's economic reforms and reset agenda are producing measurable gains across key macroeconomic indicators. Presenting the media economic update, Dr. Forson said inflation, currency stability, and the fiscal position had all improved since the start of the year, attributing the shift to tighter fiscal discipline and targeted structural reforms.

[00:07:21]Honorable speaker, I'm pleased to report that these measures have produced clear and measurable results. Mr. Speaker, real GDP growth reached 6% in 2025. Most importantly, nonreal GDP growth reached 7.6%, 6% the highest in 14 years. For the first time, Ghana's economy crossed the 100 billion United State dollar threshold in 2025, making it fullyfledged emerging market economy.

[00:07:46]Mr. Speaker, Ghana's economy is now ranked the eighth largest in Africa.

[00:07:50]Ghana's per capita income increased to $3,385 for the first time. Again, Mr. Speaker, the primary balance recorded a surplus of 2.5% of GDP in 2025. our public debt to GDP reduce to 44.7% at the end of 2025 ahead of the shadow 2034. Mr. Speaker, Ghana's Ghana achieved the debt to GDP target of 45% well ahead of the IMF program of debt rule target of by 2034. Our debt service to domestic revenue improved considerably from 55.7% in 2022 to 28.8% in 2025 even with the resumption of full euro bond obligations in 2025. Right honorable speaker Ghana achieved a moderate risk of death distress from high risk of debt distress under our debt sustainability analysis the first time in 12 years. The speaker inflation declined now to 3.4% 4% in April 202026.

[00:08:58]91day Treasury bill has declined by over 2300 basis point from 28.4% in January 2025 to 4.8% in April 2026. Mr. Speaker, the 2year, 3year and 5year bonds are now trading in the range of 11% 12.6% compared to 20% in the previous year at the secondary market. Mr. Speaker, monetary policy rate has declined by,300 basis point from 27% in January 2025 to 14% in April 2026. Mr. Speaker, the current account recorded a surplus of 8.7% of GDP as at December 2025. And most important, Mr. Speaker, our currency appreciated by 40.7% against the US dollar in one single year in the year 2025. But Mr. Speaker, these results affirm a simple but enduring truth. Mr. Speaker, fiscal prudence and discipline always delivers results.

[00:10:00]He also announced that government will soon unveil a new economic program as part of the 2027 budget aimed at sustaining macroeconomic stability and accelerating growth after Ghana's exit from the IMF program.

[00:10:13]>> Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, to build on this hardworn foundation of stability, President Muhammad's administration has designed a new economic program, the new economy to be unveiled as part of the 2027 budget. Mr. Speaker, the new economy will move Ghana from stabilization to transformation with a clear focus on sustainable job, higher productivity, greater resilience, and broadbased prosperity. Right honorable speaker, President Muhammad is grateful to the Ghana to the people of Ghana for their sacrifice, patience, and steadfast forbearance.

[00:10:56]The National Development Planning Commission, NDPC, is engaging some international partners to support a realignment process that will ensure the country's economic growth is employmentdriven. The move is aimed at reducing the burden of high unemployment rate across the country. Chairman of NDPC Dr. Nimmo Thompson mentioned that um during a presentation around the business discussion here in Arab by Ishmoin associate here's more >> according to the chairman of the national development planning commission Dr. Tanim Thomson the country's economic development has been too fixated on the gross domestic product growth. Hence key sectors are not benefiting. He believes the time has come for a change.

[00:11:37]>> And so this is one area where we are going to redefine what we mean by economic growth. And we've already put our money where our mounts are by training 15 people in labor economics uh in collaboration with the uh international labor organization. We are training people from the uh Bank of Ghana because we need to reorient monetary policy towards employment intensive growth. Price stability is not enough.

[00:12:04]And so if you look at US monetary policy for instance, the first objective of US for monetary policy is maximum employment before they even talk about price stability and then long-term interest rates.

[00:12:16]>> Dr. Thomson also suggested a total scrapping of the current cocoa board and allow farmers to sell their cocoa beans directly and pay taxes.

[00:12:24]>> Here um I would like to give the example of cocoa board for example because we've reached a stage where there should be no sacred house. We should be able to think not outside of the box but on top of the box. We stand on top of the box and see what is going on around us. Uh the question is often asked about what we do at Coco Board and my frank view based on evaluation of the history and everything is that perhaps the time has come for us to simply wind it down. Get it out of the way of the farmers. Let the farmers earn their money and pay taxes and let this Kokai aristocracy find their level somewhere else. Why? Because as emi times have changed. In 1906, Koko overtook rubber as the largest foreign exchange earner for the Gold Coast. That was about 80% of GDP then. By 1950, it was down to 60%. As I speak with you, it's down to less than 2%. Two, Coco accounts for less than 2% of our GDP.

[00:13:25]So, what do we need this old bureaucracy for? a bureaucracy which by the way used to own and I believe they still own a guest house in London purchased with the money of poor cocoa farmers.

[00:13:36]>> Finance Minister Dr. Ques Laforen however disagrees and announced that the new cocoa board bill is ready and will soon be laid in parliament to reset the cocoa board >> that we need to reform the cocoa board.

[00:13:49]Um cocoa board has served Ghana well. Um it has been a major source of foreign exchange earner. Um it has obviously suffered some mismanagement. Uh it's a fact that we need to recognize and um government has taken a decision to reform cocoa board. I'll be going to parliament in the next few weeks to introduce a new bill to parliament reforming cocoa board and changing the structure of cocoa board. The Minister for Finance also used the platform to announce the development of a new economic model for the country which will be launched in 2027.

[00:14:31]This is still business life. Let's take a quick breather. Be right back.

[00:14:40]Hello again. Welcome back to Business Life. The Bank of Ghana is urging real estate brokers and property investors to prioritize transparency and due diligence in property transactions to help reduce fraud and strengthen confidence in the sector. Speaking at an engagement with members of the Ghana Association of Real Estate Brokers, deputy head of the Collateral Registry Department, Rosemary Akabutu said conducting searches on assets before transaction is critical in protecting investment and improving trust in the real estate market. Speaking at a stakeholder engagement, the Bank of Ghana says transparency and due diligence remain critical in safeguarding investment and strengthen confidence within Ghana's growing real estate sector.

[00:15:21]>> In the real estate industry, this becomes even more crucial and the importance of conducting searches and understanding any existing encumbrances on assets cannot be overemphasized.

[00:15:38]These are vital steps in minimizing risk, preventing fraud and safeguarding investments.

[00:15:48]Despite this reforms being in place for 15 years, limited public awareness remains a major challenge. To address this, the Bank of Ghana has intensified financial literacy and outreach programs. President of Gabb speaking at engagement admitted that for years the real estate sector operated with little regulation creating opportunities for fraud and dispute.

[00:16:16]>> Um brokers to be precise.

[00:16:19]One of our duty is to uh conduct searches, do a lot of due diligence on properties and um sometimes properties have been used for uh collateral but we are not aware and then you'll be marketing those properties later. It can even be sold before you know that it has been used for um collateral. And so is the reason why we engaged the bank of Ghana uh to take us through um this process how to conduct a search with them when we have such issue.

[00:16:59]>> The bank of Ghana believes stronger collaboration between financial institution and real estate professionals will help improve transparency, reduce fraud and strengthen investor confidence within Ghana's property market.

[00:17:12]Head of public relations at the social security and national insurance trust Lord Kuramua says the trans ongoing sale of residential apartments forms part of a broader investment restructuring and realignment strategy aimed at generating strong returns for contributors funds.

[00:17:31]Speaking after a tour of some Senate housing projects, he says the tr is prioritizing contributors and Ghanian workers by offering priced apartments targeted at the working class. Senate says the residential apartment project which includes the Adinkra Heights located at the Switchback in Cantoment, Eagle's Place at Sakumono, Meridian Gardens at Clagon Community 19 in Tema and Royal Tivoli Apartments form part of the trust diversified investment portfolio funded through contributions collected from workers. According to the head of public relations, Lord Krammoir, the properties currently on the market are expected to generate significant long-term returns while also providing contributors with opportunities to own affordable housing assets. At SNIT, we collect contributions from workers.

[00:18:17]Now, when we collect these contributions, we do invest them in various classes of investments. So what you've seen today following the runs that we have had is all part of our assets which we've put out for sale as part of our investments. So it's already up in the market for sale. We've put it out in the market also knowing very well that workers would have to buy these facilities. So we've reached out to the Ghana Employers Association, the labor unions. We've engaged them and we've made this available for workers to patronize and to buy. He also maintains that the apartments have been competitively priced to suit the target market, especially salaried workers and contributors to the pension scheme. Just like all our investment, we did a lot of prudent investment in this and we're looking that we get significant returns from these investments. Well, I can assure you that these apartments are fairly priced and very competitively priced. We know very well that what the target market is. So, the board took into consideration the target market and the prices for these um apartments are really fairly priced. So, we have a sales office on the sixth floor of the Ridge Towers. Um, anybody who is interested can contact the sales office and they'll take them through the sales procedure.

[00:19:25]>> Snit says the sale of the apartment is expected to strengthen investment returns for contributors while expanding access to quality housing for Ghanaian workers and the broader public.

[00:19:38]The Ghana Employers Association has held its annual leadership conference in Ara, bringing together business executives, policy makers, and industry leaders to discuss reasonable leadership, inclusion, and corporate governance in today's evolving business environment.

[00:19:51]The conference highlighted the growing importance of inclusive leadership and ethical corporate practices in driving national development. There is more in this report. The annual leadership conference organized by the Ghana employees association brought together key players in Ghana's business community at the Alisa Hotel in Ara. The conference focused on leadership, inclusion, corporate social responsibility and sustainable business growth amid changing economic and social realities. Speaking at the event, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Na Mumulati stressed the importance of empowering women beyond representation in leadership spaces. Leadership inclusion must go beyond numbers.

[00:20:33]It must ensure that women are empowered with skills, confidence, mentorship and institutional support needed to effectively contribute to decision making and national transformation.

[00:20:50]It is for these reasons that initiatives such as the female future program remain extremely important.

[00:20:59]>> Managing director of Nestle Ghana Salume AVO who delivered the keynote address as guest speaker emphasized the need for leaders to inspire trust and uphold responsible corporate governance.

[00:21:11]>> Employees want leaders they can believe in. Consumers want companies that will do the right thing. Investors want confidence in governance. Communities want to see that business success creates shared value. Leadership therefore becomes a commitment to stewardship but not a status. This is really important. It is not about status.

[00:21:41]Executive responsibility does not stop at setting directions. It extends to the standards we set, the questions we ask, the risks we confront, and example we model every single day.

[00:21:54]>> The Ghana Employer Association says it remains committed to promoting strong leadership practices that supports business growth and national development.

[00:22:04]Communication professionals across Africa have launched the inaugural communicating Africa summit in Ara with a renewed push for Africans to lead the narrative about the continent and reshape global perceptions through strategic storytelling. Co-convener of the summit Georgina Faguenu says communication plays a critical role in influencing investment tourism and development discussions. There is more in this report. The inaugural communicating Africa summit has officially been launched in Ara with a call for Africans to take charge of telling the continent story. The initiative led by the communications professionals across Africa seeks to reshape global perceptions about the continent through strategic storytelling and effective communication. Speaking at the launch, co-convener the communicating Africa summit, Georgina Sarafiagenu, explained that the initiative was created to ensure Africans take ownership of their narratives.

[00:23:00]>> We are here today on the back of the African Union celebration um to launch the inaugural summit of the Africans Communicating Africa group. So Africans communicating Africa is a network of communications uh professionals uh that have come together to tell the story of Africa. Um the the the point we are making is that the story of Africa needs to be told and it needs to be led by Africans.

[00:23:34]>> She further emphasized that positive and balanced narratives can boost tourism and attract investors to African countries. Communications is very powerful. It goes beyond just you know issuing stories, covering stories because people make decisions based on what they see and what they hear. If they believe that Africa is a safe place to invest, they would attempt to invest in Africa. If they believe that Africa is a nice place to visit, they would want to visit. So people make travel decisions, tourist decisions, they make investment decisions based on their perception of what the country or the continent is. So communications is really important because what we put out there is what people see. The communicating Africa summit is expected to serve as a platform for communicating professionals, journalists, and storytellers across the continent to collaborate on strategies aimed at projecting a stronger and more balanced image of Africa globally. Thank you for staying with us on United States of Africa TV. We value your support and appreciate your commitment to following the issues and opportunities shaping Africa's future. Through informed discussions and active participation, we can all contribute to building a stronger, more prosperous, and more united continent. If you found this report informative, please subscribe to the channel, like this video, and share it across WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, X, Instagram, and all social media platforms. Every share helps expand the conversation and connect Africans around the world. Now, it's your turn to join the discussion. We encourage you to share your opinions and perspectives in the comment section below. Question one, do you believe Ghana's proposed economic reforms and businessfriendly policies will create lasting opportunities for entrepreneurs, investors, and young job seekers? Question two, what strategies should African governments prioritize to promote sustainable economic growth, increase employment opportunities, and strengthen local industries. We look forward to hearing your views. Thank you for watching and we hope to see you again in our next broadcast.