Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has credited the government’s fiscal and external buffers established in 2025 for Ghana’s ability to withstand significant economic shocks in 2026 without slipping into another economic crisis. He explained that the policies and financial measures introduced last year had strengthened the economy’s resilience, enabling the country to absorb unexpected developments that could otherwise have destabilised the economy.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, November 13, Dr Forson identified four major shocks that had tested Ghana’s economic stability this year. These included declining international cocoa prices, the June 29 floods, a fire at the Akosombo switchyard and disruptions linked to developments around the Strait of Hormuz. The Finance Minister described the fall in global cocoa prices as one of the most significant challenges, arguing that the development could have plunged Ghana into an economic crisis under normal circumstances.
He also highlighted the flooding that affected parts of the country in June 2026, noting that the emergency response, relief efforts and reconstruction requirements created additional pressure on government expenditure. Dr Forson further pointed to the fire at the Akosombo switchyard, which left more than 1,020 megawatts of electricity generation capacity unavailable, describing it as another major setback the country had to contend with.
The fourth challenge, he said, was the disruption of global economic activities arising from developments around the Strait of Hormuz, which had placed considerable pressure on economies across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. According to him, Ghana’s ability to navigate these challenges without experiencing a major economic crisis was largely attributable to the financial safeguards established through the government’s policies in 2025.
“Obviously, because of the measures we put in place in 2025, we built both external and fiscal buffers. These buffers are necessary, and we built them in 2025. And that is why we’ve been able to go through these difficulties,” he stated. Dr Forson maintained that the fiscal discipline and external financial reserves built in the previous year had provided the government with sufficient financial flexibility to manage the impact of the various economic shocks confronting the country in 2026.
