By Lucy Mawufemor Kpeglo
The President, John Mahama, says Ghana has shown it is possible to manage the economy without borrowing from the international capital markets.
Speaking during a Presidential Media Encounter where he met with journalists from various media houses, Mr. Mahama said Ghana’s ability to stay off external borrowing is a sign of discipline and good economic planning.
“We have survived without going to the capital markets. We’ve survived without borrowing. Who would have thought some years ago that Ghana’s economy could be run without going to the external market to borrow, and yet we’ve survived,” he said.
He explained that his government achieved this by cutting unnecessary spending and focusing on key areas of national interest. He stressed that the economic turnaround is a result of fiscal discipline and better management of resources.
“All we’ve done is to reorder our expenditure and push funds to areas that are our priority. That’s all we’ve done — fiscal discipline, not spending money on wasteful political interventions,” he added.
The president said the results are already being seen in Ghana’s improved fiscal balance. He noted that the primary balance has moved from -3.4% to a positive 1.1%, and he expects the country to exceed the 1.5% target by the end of the year.
Mr. Mahama urged caution about returning to borrowing on the capital markets, saying Ghana should not be in a hurry to take that path again.
