The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, says Ghana’s strong economic rebound shows that credibility, transparency and disciplined policy reforms can restore stability even after a major financial crisis.

Speaking at the opening of the maiden Pan-African Central Bank Governors’ Conference in Accra on Monday, Dr. Asiama recalled that just three years ago the country was battling what the World Bank described as a “homegrown crisis.”

“Inflation had soared to 54.1 percent, the cedi had lost half of its value, and reserves had dropped to less than one month of import cover,” he recounted.
“When my team assumed office in 2025, we chose one mission — stabilisation. We tightened policy, sterilised excess liquidity, and communicated openly with the public, the markets and citizens.”

A Recovery Backed by Data

He noted that these measures have yielded significant results. Inflation has now dropped to 8 percent — the first time Ghana has returned to single-digit inflation since 2021.

The country’s international reserves have also improved, reaching $11 billion, enough to cover 4.8 months of imports as of September 2025. Additionally, the cedi has appreciated by more than 34 percent year-to-date, reversing last year’s depreciation.

“Our stability is real, but still young — it is still being tested,” Dr. Asiama cautioned.
“Credible communication and sustained fiscal discipline will be key to protecting these gains.”

Pan-African Conference on Central Banking

The two-day high-level conference is being hosted by the Bank of Ghana in partnership with the Bank of England and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Held under the theme:
“Central Bank Governance: Leadership, Credibility and Resilience in African Central Banking,”
the event brings together leaders of 23 African central banks to discuss policy independence, governance and regional financial stability.

Notable attendees included:

• British High Commissioner to Ghana, Dr. Christian Rogg

• Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy at the Bank of England, Clare Lombardelli

• First Deputy Governor of BoG, Dr. Zakari Mumuni

• Second Deputy Governor of BoG, Matilda Asante-Asiedu

Collaboration and Peer Learning

Dr. Rogg praised the growing cooperation among African central banks, noting that shared learning is now key in addressing inflation, debt risks and global market instability.

He emphasized that the partnership between the Bank of Ghana and the Bank of England — which began in 2015 — has evolved from aid-oriented support into a knowledge-sharing model that strengthens financial governance and resilience.

Ms. Lombardelli added that the Bank of England remains committed to supporting central banks across the Global South through training, research collaborations and initiatives such as the UK and international market funding programmes.

The Bank of Ghana says the recent decline in the value of the U.S. dollar has played a major role in supporting the Ghana Cedi, helping to steady the local currency despite continued challenges in the foreign exchange market.

According to the Central Bank, the U.S. dollar index fell by about 8 percent between January and August 2025. This was largely due to a slowdown in the American labour market and growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would begin cutting interest rates.

In its September 2025 Monetary Policy Report, the Bank explained that the weaker dollar, along with the increasing global use of alternative currencies like the Chinese Yuan for trade and commodity payments, contributed to the strengthening of several emerging market currencies — including Ghana’s cedi.

However, the local currency still faced headwinds during the period, mainly from high import demand and reduced foreign exchange supply. These challenges were linked to issues in the Gold-for-Forex programme and a dip in remittance inflows.

Despite these pressures, the Cedi recorded notable gains — appreciating by 28.95 percent against the U.S. dollar, 19.49 percent against the British pound, and 14.08 percent against the euro on a year-to-date basis. This marks a sharp turnaround from the significant losses seen during the same period in 2024.

The Bank of Ghana noted that the Cedi’s short-term stability will rely on maintaining high gold prices, improving forex liquidity through new directives to mining companies, and ensuring continued fiscal discipline.

Additionally, positive investor confidence from the recent IMF programme reviews and shifts in U.S. monetary policy are expected to further influence the Cedi’s outlook in the coming months.

The World Bank has cautioned Ghana against making a hasty return to the Eurobond market, warning that such a move would signal to international investors that the country is taking the “easy way out.”

According to the Bank, Ghana’s credibility cannot be restored through fresh borrowing but only through strict fiscal discipline, transparency, and politically difficult reforms.

“The new administration should refrain from a hasty return to the Eurobond market, which international investors would interpret as taking the easy way out,” the report stated. “Instead, the government must strengthen fiscal and growth fundamentals and convince the private sector that public debt is on a sustainable path.”

The Bank emphasized that Ghana’s recovery hinges on strict adherence to the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy and full transparency of the Annual Borrowing Plan. It advised the government to seize the post-election period to roll out tough reforms and rebuild trust with citizens and investors.

Ghana’s economic challenges, the report noted, are not new. Over the past 68 years, the country has entered 17 IMF programmes, spending nearly 40 of those years under active Fund support. The World Bank stressed that the 2022 economic crisis was not caused by COVID-19 or the Russia-Ukraine war, but by years of fiscal indiscipline, excessive borrowing, and weak financial management. Easy access to Eurobonds in the past decade, it said, delayed critical reforms and left the economy vulnerable.

Even after recent debt restructuring and IMF support, the Bank cautioned that Ghana is still not out of danger. “Reestablishing credibility will take time, but the process can start immediately,” it said, urging decisive action to break the country’s recurring cycle of boom and bust.

President John Mahama has already aligned with this stance, saying he does not support a quick return to international capital markets. “We have survived without borrowing from the capital markets. As President, I would not favour a quick return. We must consolidate the economy before seeking external financing,” he said.

The World Bank recommended bold reforms, including enforcing fiscal rules, broadening the tax base, and overhauling state-owned enterprises, especially in the energy and cocoa sectors. Without these steps, it warned, Ghana risks once again being locked out of global markets and trapped in its historical cycle of crisis and bailouts.