President John Dramani Mahama has declared that Ghana’s economy has undergone a fundamental transformation, describing its newfound resilience as a shift from standing on “broomsticks” to resting on “concrete pillars.”
Speaking at a citizens’ engagement during his tour of the Upper West Region, the President contrasted the economy’s current capacity to absorb global shocks with its past vulnerability .
“In the past, Ghana’s economy used to stand on broomsticks. As soon as something happens in the world, it comes crashing down,” Mahama said. “Today Ghana’s economy is standing on concrete pillars. So even when there’s an earthquake, the country is still standing” .
The External Shock Test
The President pointed to the ongoing Iran-Israel-US conflict as a real-time test of the economy’s resilience, arguing that a similar geopolitical shock in previous years would have devastated Ghana’s fiscal position .
“In the past, this Iran-Israel-US war, if it had happened some years back, by now the economy would have come crashing down,” he stated. “But happily it’s been well managed” .
The conflict triggered the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in late February 2026, sending Brent crude prices soaring from approximately $71 per barrel to over $121 by the end of March . For Ghana, a net importer of refined petroleum products, the transmission channels were immediate: fuel pump prices surged, transport costs climbed, and inflationary pressures intensified .
Fitch Solutions subsequently revised Ghana’s 2026 GDP growth forecast downward to 5.5%, citing the conflict’s impact on the near-term outlook . Yet the macroeconomic fundamentals have held. Inflation, which had fallen to 3.3% in February 2026, remained within manageable bounds, and the country’s external position—bolstered by record-high gold prices—remained largely insulated from the oil price shock .
Growth Projections and Missed Opportunities
President Mahama acknowledged that external developments had tempered the pace of economic expansion, suggesting Ghana could have achieved growth of up to 7% this year in the absence of global headwinds .
“We would have made more progress this year than even last year. I’m sure the growth would have hit 7%, but of course we live in this world and we can’t help but be affected” .
Official projections have Ghana’s real GDP growth target at no less than 4.8% for 2026, following growth of 5.8% in 2025 . The African Development Bank projects growth moderating to 5% in 2026 and recovering to 5.4% in 2027, with inflation expected to decline to 9% this year and 7.2% next year .
The underlying fiscal data supports the narrative of stabilisation. The debt-to-GDP ratio fell from 61.8% at the end of 2024 to 45.0% by the end of June 2026, while interest costs stood at 1.3% of GDP against a half-year target of 1.8% .
Budget Preparations Underway
The President also revealed that preparations for the 2027 Budget have commenced, with budget hearings currently in progress. The Ministry of Finance confirmed that government agencies, including the Electoral Commission, are presenting their plans and funding needs ahead of the next financial year .
“There’s going to be the new budget 2027, and the budget hearings have currently started, and I’m sure that we’ll capture as many of the essential things that we need to capture as possible,” Mahama said .
The budget hearings form part of the broader process toward preparing the 2027 Budget for consideration by Cabinet and subsequently Parliament .
While the President’s optimistic framing may draw political scrutiny, the macroeconomic indicators suggest a marked improvement from the crisis years of 2022-2023, when Ghana faced debt default, record inflation, and an IMF bailout . Whether the “concrete pillars” hold under sustained external pressure will be the defining economic test of this administration.
