The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, says the government has introduced about 22 laws over the past 18 months to institutionalise its economic reforms and protect the gains achieved from being reversed by future administrations.
He said the measures were intended to prevent the country from returning to the economic difficulties experienced between 2022 and 2024, a period he described as one of pain and hardship for Ghanaians.
Dr Forson made the remarks during a New Economy engagement at the University of Ghana, where he outlined efforts to give the government’s reforms a lasting legal foundation.
He was responding to a question from Professor Fred Dzanku, Head of the Economics Division at the university’s Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), who asked how some of the government’s policies and agenda could be institutionalised to ensure their sustainability.
Dr Forson said the government had pursued the introduction of new legislation, the repeal of existing laws and amendments to current laws as part of efforts to protect its reforms.
“I try to introduce a lot of laws. In the last 18 months, we have introduced about 22 laws,” he said.
He explained that the government was also pursuing amendments that would require a two-thirds majority in Parliament to change certain laws, making it more difficult for future administrations to reverse the reforms.
“So, we are locking in the progress,” he added.
The Finance Minister said his experience in Parliament and policymaking had given him a better understanding of how to sustain reforms beyond the tenure of a particular government.
“I am in a unique position to understand how the issue of sustainability can be tackled because of my parliamentary experience and policy experience,” he said.
He noted that policies not backed by legislation could easily be changed by subsequent governments, making it necessary to translate key reform commitments into law.
Dr Forson cited the ongoing amendments to the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act as one of the measures aimed at institutionalising the government’s reforms.
“Some of the things we are doing are being institutionalised, and we are putting it into law to lock in the sustainability,” he explained.
Story Freedom Etsey Lavoe