The Member of Parliament (MP) for Upper West Akim, Emmanuel Drah, has praised the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, for his effective handling of the economy, citing significant improvements in key economic indicators. 

He said the Finance Minister's mid-year budget revenue presentation to Parliament on July 24, 2025, highlighted the government's efforts to stabilise the economy and promote growth.

Speaking in the floor of Parliament last Thursday (July 31, 2025) during the debate on the budget, the Lawmaker said the economy has shown signs of recovery, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate increasing from 4.9 per cent in the first quarter of last year to 5.4 per cent in the same quarter of this year.

He indicated that inflation, which skyrocketed to over 50 per cent sometime last year before decreasing to 23.8 per cent in December last year, has also been further reduced to 18.3 per cent in May this year due to the prudence of the Minister of Finance.

Mr Drah added that treasury bill rates and interest rates had also descended since Dr Forson took office in January this year, indicating a strong stabilisation of the economy and the cedi’s appreciation against the major trading currencies. 

Prudent spending, fiscal discipline

Mr Drah commended the Minister of Finance for his prudent spending and fiscal discipline, and investment in revenue-generating projects to service the country’s debts.

“It was argued in this House that we were not spending, but the finance minister’s statement proved otherwise. The minister presented to this House that he had spent GH? 9.1 billion in the energy sector for us to have constant power supply,” he said.

The MP for Upper West Akim also pointed to the uncovering of over 67,000 ghost names on the government payroll, which is expected to save significant amounts of money— crediting the Minister of Finance for the effort. 

Call to Action

The MP for Upper West Akim’s call for fiscal discipline comes on the heels of Ghana's economic challenges the country faced under the previous government, including high inflation and debt levels.

The lawmaker indicated that measures instituted by the former administration to address these challenges, including a debt restructuring programme and fiscal consolidation efforts only worsen the woes, touting the legislation of the current government to tackle fiscal indiscipline.

“Government has already taken steps to strengthen fiscal discipline, including the passage of the Public Financial Management (Amendment) Act, 2025.

This Act introduced strict fiscal rules, a debt ceiling, and an independent Fiscal Council to enhance accountability and transparency, a very significant legislation,” he said.

Mr Drah indicated that the government was making life-changing economic decisions and assured the public to look out for infrastructure, agriculture and other sectors that have the potential to drive economic growth.