Ghana must restructure economy amid improving fundamentals – Prof. Ebo Turkson

Economist Professor Ebo Turkson says government must use the 2026 budget to embark on a comprehensive restructuring of the economy amid signs of macroeconomic stability.

He argues, the current momentum to drive economic diversification, particularly as it rolls out the 24-hour economy policy, noting that part of the recent stability stems from favourable commodity prices, including gold, which has strengthened fiscal and external positions.

“We need to structurally transform our economy. Most of what we are seeing now is also coming from the fact that the balance of payment is good. Gold is good, the gold for reserves has helped us a lot but these are based on commodities and you cannot depend on commodities to build the resilience so we need to change the structure of the economy. This is the time the government should prioritise how we can diversify our production base”, he told Citi Business News.

Latest data from the Bank of Ghana indicates that the local currency has appreciated by 37 percent against the US dollar.

Ghana’s consumer price inflation has also dropped into single digits for the first time in four years, extending a nine-month streak of declines.

The year-on-year rate eased to 9.4% in September 2025, down from 11.5% in August.

“The 24 hour economy is on board so if the right infrastructure is built to support that 24-hour economy we are going to see diversification in the production base of the economy and also our export base,” Prof. Ebo Turkson added.

Amid the improving macroeconomic condition, the proposed budget date of November 13 will mark the first full-year budget of the Mahama administration since returning to power in 2025.

It will also be the government’s most significant fiscal policy presentation yet, following ten months of steering the affairs of the economy.