Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has defended the government’s economic management, insisting that Ghana’s economy is growing, prices are falling and the country will not return to what he described as reckless borrowing.
Speaking during an interactive engagement with students and the university community at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Forson dismissed claims that traders were struggling to sell their goods because of weak consumer demand, describing such assertions as propaganda unsupported by economic data.
He challenged critics to examine Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth figures, arguing that the country’s economic performance contradicts claims of declining economic activity.
“Check the GDP figures,” he told the gathering, insisting that the data showed an expanding economy rather than one experiencing a decline.
The Finance Minister explained that the government’s ability to undertake public expenditure depended largely on economic activity and revenue mobilisation through taxation.
He said his priority was to direct public resources towards productive sectors of the economy to stimulate growth and create sustainable economic opportunities, rather than depend excessively on borrowing.
Dr Forson cautioned against a return to unsustainable borrowing practices, warning that excessive reliance on debt could undermine the country’s economic stability.
On the cost of living, the Minister maintained that falling prices were gradually improving consumers’ purchasing power and making food and other essential commodities more affordable.
He said the government’s economic approach was focused on sustaining growth, improving living conditions and ensuring fiscal discipline while avoiding the borrowing practices that had previously placed pressure on the economy.
Story by Ama Frimpomaa
