Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has pledged to use the recommendations from the National Economic Dialogue as his “Bible”, in shaping the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy.
He assured stakeholders that their concerns and proposals would be reflected in the budget, emphasizing the need for collaborative economic reforms.
“So, I will wait for the communiqué, and I can use the communiqué as my Bible, going into the preparation of the budget and to make recommendations to Cabinet for adoption and approval for us to input into the budget.”
Dr. Forson acknowledged that while Ghana’s economic challenges and solutions are well understood, the biggest obstacle remains effective implementation. He stressed that government policies can only succeed with public buy-in.
“Implementation is the challenge; we can only implement as a government if we get the buy-in of the citizens.”
With the budget set to be presented on March 11, he assured participants that many of their concerns would be incorporated into economic policies.
“Most of the concerns you’ve raised, you’ll begin to see them in the budget.”
Dr. Forson emphasized that government alone cannot drive economic transformation and urged all stakeholders, including the private sector, civil society, and the public, to support economic reforms.
“We call on you to support the government in educating the public, for the public to understand that the time has come for us to reset and reform the economy. We’ve got to do this together.”
He further highlighted the interconnectedness of various sectors, including macroeconomics, private sector development, infrastructure, governance, and corruption, stressing that major reforms must be undertaken across all these areas.
“And so clearly, what I can say is most striking to me, particularly sitting there quietly, is that interconnectedness between the macro group to the private sector, to infrastructure, to all the other sectors, even to the governance and the corruption sub-sectors, is the need for us to do major reforms,” he stated during his closing remarks of the two-day forum.
Dr. Forson’s commitment to using the National Economic Dialogue’s recommendations as a guiding framework underscores the government’s determination to reset Ghana’s economy. He assured that the upcoming budget would prioritize structural reforms, enhanced revenue mobilization, and responsible fiscal management.
“And so the solution is there, we know the problems, we know what we have to do to resolve the problems, let’s start the implementation.”
Voice of Dr Ato Forson
No comment yet, add your voice below!