Dr Cassiel Ato Forson is the Minister of Finance
As the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson prepares to present the 2026 Budget Statement in parliament today, a finance expert has cautioned government against reckless spending in the wake of recent debt relief gains – stressing that this year’s budget will be crucial to maintaining fiscal discipline as Ghana prepares to exit the IMF programme’s supervision in 2026.
In an exclusive pre-budget interview with B&FT, Prince Yeboah Boateng, a lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Department of Accounting warned that government must resist the temptation to ‘just spend anyhow’ despite a reduction in the country’s debt burden.
“We should be mindful of our fiscal issues and not decide to just spend anyhow because of the debt relief benefit,” Boateng stated.
According to a release from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Monetary Policy Committee, Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio moderated to 43.8 percent as of June 2025 – having reduced drastically from 61.8 percent at end-December 2024.
This reduction is the result of some debt relief achieved through the debt restructuring programme and appreciation of the cedi.
Boateng’s call for prudent spending comes at a time when there is public anticipation of some form of relief in order to cope with the high living costs.
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Echoing this sentiment, Boateng stated he does not expect any new direct taxes in the upcoming budget. Instead, he urged government to focus on widening the tax net by bringing the informal sector into the fold, rather than further burdening the tax-fatigued formal sector.
The lecturer commended government for its prudent fiscal consolidation through spending cuts in the 2025 budget, noting that it created some fiscal room.
The 2025 budget was estimated at GH¢269.1billion in total expenditures, with a deficit of GH¢43.8billion – 3.1 percent of GDP. This deficit is expected to be funded by borrowing.
He further noted that even though some macroeconomic stability has been restored, there is still a disconnect between the improving indicators and realities faced by citizens and businesses.
“The people are saying inflation is going down and that will probably also lead to lesser interest rates, but we are not feeling it in our pockets,” he observed.
To address this, he emphasised that the budget must have a “practical effect” on lives of the public, moving beyond the technical document to a relatable “citizens’ budget” that translates the figures into tangible benefits.
Boateng expressed strong expectation that government will bring finality to simplifying the Value Added Tax (VAT) system, stressing that reforming the complex tax will help build business confidence and enhance compliance.
“If a tax system is not simple for the people to really understand it, it becomes very difficult for them to comply. I expect this to be reflected in the upcoming budget. It will bring confidence within the business community,” he stated.
He also admonished that the COVID-19 Levy, which has been slated to be abolished, be converted to a “health tax” – citing acceptance and compliance to the tax. However, he advised that proceeds from the tax should be used to improve health infrastructure in the country only and called for similar tax revenues to be used strictly for their intended purposes.
The UPSA lecturer pointed to an established positive relationship between infrastructure and economic expansion, stating that he expects government to “pump-in” resources toward infrastructure in health, education and roads to expand the economy.
However, he noted that government will not always have adequate fiscal space to undertake the projects alone, advocating a shift toward Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to make these projects viable without straining the public purse.
“I will be happy when government partners with the private sector in order to deliver some of these public services and infrastructure,” he said.
With Ghana’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme slated to end in May 2026, Boateng underscored that the upcoming budget is critical to building post-IMF economic resilience. He warned that the country must “be deliberate about learning our lessons” to avoid slipping into the “fiscal slippages that took us to the IMF in the first place”.
“After we exit an IMF programme, we say that we have learnt our lessons. But we haven’t really learnt any lessons. We continue to repeat the same mistakes,” he noted, stating this has resulted in Ghana going to the IMF for bailouts a good 17 times since independence.
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