We won’t return Ghana to wasteful spending and economic crisis – Ato Forson
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has pledged that the government will maintain fiscal discipline and avoid a return to wasteful spending, unsustainable financial commitments and economic crisis.
He said the government would not squander the fiscal space recovered through its economic management efforts, insisting that responsible management of public finances must remain a permanent obligation.
He noted that the government had confronted disorder in the public finances, restrained wasteful spending and taken difficult decisions, with the country’s public finances now stronger.
However, the Finance Minister cautioned that the government must protect these gains and ensure that the fiscal space created through economic stabilisation is not misused.
“We will not allow it to become a pathway back to waste, unsustainable obligations and economic crisis,” he told Parliament.
Dr Forson described fiscal discipline as a permanent obligation of government, stressing that the resources recovered through economic reforms must be managed responsibly.
“Fiscal discipline must endure as a permanent obligation of government,” he stated.
He further described the recovered fiscal space as a national asset secured through the sacrifices of Ghanaians, which the government holds in trust.
“Every decision to use it must respect the hardship through which it was secured,” he said.
The Finance Minister argued that the improved fiscal position should provide the government with the capacity to invest in Ghana’s future and make long-term decisions that serve the country’s development interests.
He said the next phase of the government’s economic reset would focus on building an economy that produces more, retains greater value locally and creates productive jobs.
He urged that the sacrifices made by Ghanaians during the period of economic difficulties should translate into lasting improvements in their lives and opportunities for future generations.
