Ghana has seen fastest debt reduction under Ato Forson – Franklin Cudjoe

IMANI Africa President Franklin Cudjoe has commended Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson for what he describes as the fastest and most significant reduction of Ghana’s public debt in over a decade.

Delivering the 2026 Budget Statement to Parliament on Thursday, November 13, Dr. Forson announced that Ghana’s total public debt had declined sharply from GH₵726.7 billion (61.8% of GDP) in 2024 to GH₵630.2 billion (45% of GDP) by October 2025.

“For the first time in over a decade, we have recorded a negative rate in debt accumulation—from a positive 19.1 percent in 2024 to a negative 13.3 percent in 2025,” the Minister told lawmakers.

He attributed the turnaround to fiscal discipline, restrained borrowing, and a stronger cedi, insisting that Ghana’s debt trajectory has now shifted onto a sustainable downward path.

Cudjoe: “This is the fastest time we’ve reduced our debts”

Speaking on Citi FM’s The Big Issue on Saturday, November 15, Franklin Cudjoe said Ghana’s debt—which ballooned to alarming levels under the previous administration—has been curtailed far more rapidly than many analysts thought possible.

“The difference we must also realise is that when Ato took over, this is the fastest time we’ve actually reduced our debts,” he said.
“You guys [erstwhile NPP government] took us into the deepest hole ever. Nobody thought we could get out, but this guy came and within 10 months virtually took us out quickly. This is the fastest—from 65 percent to about 45 percent. So let’s also give the good shepherd credit.”

Critique of previous spending culture

Cudjoe contrasted the current administration’s disciplined approach with what he described as reckless and unverified spending under the former government.

“The previous administration was just sharing money like there was no tomorrow. In fact, when they see you and they like your face, they ask you to come for some… They were just sharing the thing,” he said.

He described a conversation at GETFund where he was told that unlike the past, there would be no mobilisation payments without prior verification.

“I thought it was a fluke until I met Ato a day or two before the budget,” he recounted.
“He said, ‘My brother, nobody is doing that again.’”

Cudjoe added that the shift toward accountability and due diligence marks a significant break from the past and has been critical in stabilising Ghana’s fiscal position.