No new loans for $13bn New Economy Programme – Ato Forson

The government plans to mobilise at least US$13 billion for its New Economy Programme over four years without contracting additional loans, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has said.

He explained that the proposed investment, which will run from 2027 to 2030, would be financed through domestic revenue mobilisation and adjustments to the government's fiscal targets rather than fresh borrowing.

Dr Ato Forson gave the assurance during an interaction with students and members of the university community at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where he addressed questions about how the government intended to fund the initiative.

Under the proposed arrangement, 0.5 per cent of GDP would be drawn from government revenue, while another 1 per cent would be made available by lowering the primary surplus target from 1.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent of GDP. The two measures are expected to provide the fiscal space needed to sustain the programme.

The Minister also dismissed suggestions that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) generates revenue for the Finance Ministry or the government, explaining that the state's main revenue sources remain direct taxes, indirect taxes and non-tax revenue.

On the country's debt position, he reiterated the government's intention to bring public debt down to 45 per cent of GDP by 2028. He pointed to a primary surplus of 2.5 per cent of GDP achieved in 2025 and a projected 1.5 per cent surplus for 2026, saying the combined fiscal outcomes would support a debt reduction of approximately 4 per cent of GDP.

He added that the government intends to ease the annual pace of debt reduction to 0.5 per cent of GDP from 2027 to create room for investment in the New Economy Programme. Dr Ato Forson maintained that the strategy would allow the government to pursue its economic transformation agenda without abandoning its commitment to debt sustainability.