The government says it has made significant progress in putting the economy on the right growth path."The signs of recovery are obvious, evident, noticeable, visible and tangible, and they are being felt," the Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, stated yesterday when he presented the Mid-Year Budget to Parliament.He cited the stability of the Cedi, robust growth, declining inflation, and strong fiscal discipline as some of the strides being made by the government for the turnaround of the economy.The presentation was in line with Section 28 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), which required the Finance Minister to submit the Mid-Year Review to Parliament by July 31 each financial year.The economy, he said, expanded by 5.3 per cent in the first half of 2025, up from 4.9 per cent in the same period of 2024, marking the highest first-half growth since 2020.Agriculture, Dr Forson said, led the way with a growth rate of 6.6 per cent, nearly triple the rate recorded in the first quarter of 2024.The services sector, which makes up nearly 47 per cent of GDP, he said, grew by 5.9 per cent, while industry grew by 3.4 per cent and manufacturing alone posted a growth rate of 6.6 per cent."Non-oil GDP grew by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, its highest since 2018," Dr Forson said.Government, he said, remained optimistic about meeting or exceeding its 2025 growth target of four per cent."These early successes only encourage us to stay focused, stay disciplined, and continue to do more for the people of Ghana," he noted.On inflation, the Minister said deliberate policy measures had helped ease price pressures significantly.Consumer price inflation, Mr Forson said, dropped from 23.8 per cent in December 2024 to 13.7 per cent in June 2025, while food inflation declined from 27.8 per cent to 16.3 per cent in the same period.Dr Forson said the government had managed to reverse the country's economic decline despite inheriting a "bleeding economy" plagued by high debt levels, weak institutions, and low investor confidence."We chose a path of restoration as part of the reset agenda of the government, and we have streamlined and increased investment in education, health, agriculture and infrastructure," he told Parliament."The drastic fall in inflation is not by chance or sheer luck, but as a result of hard work and deliberate government policies," he stressed.The Ghana cedi also recorded a remarkable appreciation by 42.6 per cent against the dollar, 30.3 per cent against the British pound, and 25.6 per cent against the euro, reversing years of depreciation."It is the first time that this level of appreciation has been recorded in the 60-year history of the Ghana cedi," Dr Forson said.Interest rates followed a similar trend, with the 91-day Treasury bill rate falling from 27.7 per cent in December 2024 to 14.7 per cent in June 2025.
The 182-day and 364-day bills also declined by over 13 percentage points each, while the average lending rate dropped from 30.3 per cent to 27 per cent.Dr Forson reported a primary surplus of 1.1 per cent of GDP as at end-June, outperforming the 0.4 per cent target.
He added that expenditure had been reduced to GH¢109.7 billion, 14.3 per cent below the programmed amount, saving GH¢4.9 billion on domestic interest payments.He assured Ghanaians that the economic rebound was just beginning, saying, "We did not come to simply manage the decline.
We came to reverse it and reset our country," he said, thanking citizens for their patience and continued support. BY KINGSLEY ASARE
