Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson
The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has issued a sharp rebuttal to claims made by Dr Gideon Boako, MP for Tano North, who earlier criticised the 2026 Budget for containing “grey areas” and accused the government of missing nearly half of its macro-fiscal targets.
Dr Boako, speaking during the 2026 budget debate in Parliament, argued that the document lacked clarity in key areas, particularly tax administration and inflation management.
He warned that the government’s plan to introduce artificial intelligence at the ports could become “a profiteering opportunity for nation wreckers” if not tightly supervised.
He also questioned the credibility of the Finance Minister, saying, “Barely one year down the line, how does Minister Ato Forson feel when he has also significantly missed most of his macro-fiscal targets?”
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But in a strong response posted on X on Thursday, November 27, 2025, Dr Forson labelled Boako’s assertions “curious and inaccurate,” insisting that none of the available data supports the claim that 50 percent of targets were missed.
“It is a curious and inaccurate claim, because none of the macro data supports it,” he wrote in a thread.
He explained that Ghana’s economic growth for the first half of the year stood at 6.3 percent, which was comfortably above the revised 2025 target of 4.0 percent.
The finance minister added that inflation had fallen sharply from 23.8 percent in 2024 to 8 percent by October 2025, beating the government’s own projected end-year target of 11.9 percent.
Dr Forson further argued that the primary balance had moved from a deficit of 3 percent of GDP in 2024 to a surplus of 1.6 percent by September 2025, outperforming the 0.6 percent target set for that period.
He stated that public debt had also dropped significantly from 61.8 percent at the end of 2024 to 45 percent of GDP by the end of October 2025, describing it as a historic correction.
Dr Ato Forson noted as well that Ghana’s gross reserves had strengthened from four months of import cover to 4.8 months.
He emphasised that the data is recognised by “the markets, investors, credit rating agencies, the IMF and the World Bank.”
Ending the rebuttal, Dr Forson defended the government’s performance and rejected claims that it is failing.
“This is not the profile of a government ‘missing half its targets.’ This is the profile of a government regaining credibility through discipline,” he stated.
SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT
2. On Fiscal Targets and Performance
A. Gideon Boako argued that we missed at least 50 percent of our budget targets.
It is a curious and inaccurate claim, because none of the macro data supports it.
i. Growth for the first half of the year stood… pic.twitter.com/K8tfPmJyqJ
— Cassiel Ato Forson (PhD) (@Cassielforson) November 27, 2025
FKA/MA
