The World Bank has urged Ghana to take bold and deliberate steps to end its repeated reliance on International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan-supported programmes.
While acknowledging the effectiveness of IMF interventions, the Bank noted that their short-term orientation does not address Ghana’s long-term macroeconomic stability needs. Instead, it stressed that sustainable transformation would require fiscal discipline, sound governance, and deep structural reforms.
In its latest Policy Notes on Ghana, titled “Transforming Ghana in a Generation,” the World Bank underscored the urgency of reform, saying, “Ghana must break from past governance failures marked by fiscal indiscipline, inefficiency, and repeated IMF programmes.”
The report projected that Ghana could sustain growth above 6.5 percent and triple its per capita income by 2050 if bold reforms were adopted. It identified weak structural transformation and overdependence on natural resources as major constraints.
The Policy Notes highlighted four foundations for Ghana’s transformation: restoring macro-financial stability; boosting productivity and jobs; ensuring sustainable management of natural resources while strengthening resilience in agriculture and infrastructure; and reinforcing governance.
Key recommendations included enhancing revenue mobilisation, improving expenditure management, and reforming high-risk sectors such as energy and cocoa. The Bank also called for a stronger business environment to attract investments into high-productivity sectors, alongside improvements in education, health, and social protection to build human capital.
Robert Taliercio, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, said: “Ghana has a unique opportunity to restore fiscal discipline, improve governance, and leverage natural and human capital resources for broad-based and inclusive development to transform the country within a generation.”
“To sustain high growth, Ghana must follow the path of countries that have avoided the middle-income trap by maintaining macroeconomic stability, low inflation rates, and sustainable public finances,” he added.
Lead Economist and principal author of the report, Mr Stefano Curto, also stressed: “The choices Ghana makes now can unlock a generation of inclusive, resilient growth, and deliver on the promise of quality jobs for its citizens.”
He reaffirmed the World Bank’s commitment to supporting Ghana’s leadership and stakeholders in pursuing sustainable transformation.
Source: GNA
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