Ato Forson unveils eight pillars to drive Ghana’s $10bn New Economy Agenda
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has outlined eight key pillars that will guide the government’s US$10 billion New Economy programme, announcing a GH¢30 billion investment for 2027 and setting an ambitious target of achieving 8 per cent real GDP growth.
Presenting the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament, Dr Forson said the government was adopting a new approach to measuring economic progress, with greater emphasis on job creation, income generation and increased productive capacity rather than relying solely on macroeconomic indicators.
He stressed that Ghana’s progress would no longer be measured by commodity windfalls and borrowing-driven consumption, but by the tangible economic opportunities and benefits created for citizens.
The New Economy programme will be anchored on eight pillars: macroeconomic stability and affordable financing; commercial agriculture, agri-industry and agribusiness; the oil palm value chain; energy sector reforms; critical minerals and value addition; cotton, textiles and garments; tourism, culture and creative arts; and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
To support the initiative, Dr Forson announced plans to adjust the primary surplus target from 1.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent of GDP, alongside tax reforms and measures to improve compliance.
He said the government would commit 1.5 per cent of GDP, equivalent to GH¢30 billion, to the programme in 2027.
Under the commercial agriculture pillar, which has been allocated US$3 billion, the government plans to intensify efforts to achieve food security and strengthen local agricultural production.
As part of the measures, public procurement laws will be revised to compel schools and hospitals to prioritise locally produced food in their purchases.
Dr Forson emphasised that public funds must be used to support local businesses and producers, insisting that institutions purchasing rice with taxpayers’ money must opt for Ghanaian rice.
He further announced plans to ban commercial rice imports by the end of 2030. The government also intends to achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production and ensure that all cocoa produced in Ghana is processed locally by the same year.
On energy, the Finance Minister outlined plans to strengthen the country’s energy independence through major investments in power generation.
He disclosed that President John Dramani Mahama would cut the sod in December 2026 for the construction of a 1,450-megawatt state-owned thermal power plant at Kafuti Abrubano in the Central Region.
The project will be complemented by a 600-megawatt solar power facility supported by battery storage capacity of 2,000 megawatt-hours.
The government is also targeting the complete withdrawal of emergency power plants from the national generation mix by 2030, while reducing electricity generation costs from 16 US cents to 8 US cents per kilowatt-hour.
Additionally, Dr Forson announced that Ghana would commit US$200 million to a 24-month nuclear readiness programme running from January 2027 to December 2028.
The initiative is expected to culminate in the signing of an engineering, procurement, construction and financing agreement for a fully state-owned nuclear baseload power plant by the end of 2028.
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