The economic advisor to President John Mahama, Seth Terkper, says the current administration is laying down long-term financial buffers to avoid a repeat of Ghana’s economic setbacks.
The former Finance Minister disclosed that government is actively populating the sinking and stabilisation funds to prepare for future shocks.
“We are populating — and I’m quoting the Finance Minister — we are populating the sinking fund. We are populating the stabilisation fund,” he said on JoyNews’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday night.
Mr Terkper said these steps are part of deeper structural reforms to ensure Ghana avoids the boom-and-bust cycles that have plagued the economy in recent years.
“It takes hard work, strategising, and it takes learning from experience and the hiccups that have happened in the last few years,” he said.
“Seeing an economy getting out of HIPC, and all other economic turmoils, and then seeing some stability — that’s a dramatic change.”
He believes Ghana is now witnessing a gradual reversal of the economic decline that followed years of fiscal pressure.
“What you are seeing now is a reversal, a gradual reversal of those trends,” he said.
He recalled past periods of fiscal stress. “It is reminiscent of the days of single spine, huge arrears, borrowing, negotiation with labour, which is also based on compensation.”
When host George Wiafe suggested that things seem to be looking good under the current economic team, just five months in, Mr Terkper agreed, but with a warning.
“Yes,” he said, “but if you listen carefully to the Finance Minister when he presented the budget, and President Mahama when he presented his speeches during the Economic Dialogue and the State of the Nation Address, there was always the need to get some traction in the short term. But the medium term was never lost.”
He said history does not allow room for complacency.
“I just like to remind the audience that inasmuch as we have had these successes, history tells us not to be complacent.”
According to him, the administration is also introducing rules to protect fiscal discipline. “We are setting debt ceilings, debt floors, deficit ceilings and floors which should guide the medium term,” he noted.
Mr Terkper said the current gains are encouraging, but the real focus is on building a framework for sustainability.
“I don’t think the narrative, inasmuch as what is happening is something that attracts attention, I don’t think the narrative has been just on short-term successes.”
He stressed that Ghana’s economic story should not just be about immediate relief. It should be about long-term stability, resilience, and discipline. “That’s the only way,” he said.
