Ghana’s economic recovery must lead to decent jobs, higher incomes and a more productive economy, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has said.
Speaking to faculty and students at the University of Ghana, Dr Forson said the government’s programme to create a New Economy would convert the sacrifices made to restore stability into practical improvements for people across the country.
“Stabilisation was never the destination. It was the price of entry,” he said.
The Finance Minister said Ghana had made progress in rebuilding economic confidence, with inflation falling, confidence returning, debt pressures being managed and the economy recovering. But he warned that those gains alone would not meet the country’s ambitions.
“Ghana has fought hard to restore stability. Inflation has come down. Confidence is returning. Debt pressures are being managed. The economy is recovering,” he said. “But recovery is not enough.”
Dr Forson said the next phase would focus on increasing production, attracting investment and creating opportunities capable of improving livelihoods.
“Stability must now become production, exports, investment, decent jobs and higher incomes. That is the central purpose of the New Economy,” he said.
He said the vision was for Ghana to produce more of the goods it consumes, add value to its agricultural and mineral resources, and create decent employment on a large scale.
Public investment, he added, would support private enterprise by creating the conditions for businesses to invest, grow and employ more Ghanaians.
Dr Forson said the transition was intended to ensure that the benefits of the recovery reached the people whose sacrifices had helped restore economic stability.
The New Economy, he said, was about building a Ghana that “turns the sacrifices of stabilisation into real benefits for the Ghanaian people.”
