Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has defended the government's decision to maintain tight public spending, insisting that the administration is bound by commitments made under Ghana's International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

His remarks come in response to criticism from the Minority, which has accused the government of failing to spend despite improved economic indicators.

Addressing the concerns during an interview on JoyNews on Friday July 24, 2026, he said the current administration inherited obligations under the IMF programme negotiated by the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, which secured a US$3 billion bailout.

According to him, the agreement committed Ghana to achieving a primary fiscal surplus of 1.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), leaving the current government with little room to increase expenditure.

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"The NPP went into an IMF programme, signed an agreement with the IMF and borrowed US$3 billion from them and committed us, this government, that we would do 1.5 per cent of GDP. This was the commitment the NPP made to the IMF and took the money, of which by the time they were leaving office, they've spent three quarters of the US$3 billion," he said.

The finance minister stressed that the IMF's agreements are with the government and not with any political party, arguing that his administration had a responsibility to honour the country's commitments.

"I have come as Minister of Finance. IMF does not deal with political parties; they deal with government and countries. I have a responsibility to achieve 1.5 per cent of GDP. Are you telling me that I should default on the promises of which Government of Ghana has taken a loan from the IMF? Certainly no, I can't do that," he stated.

Dr Forson explained that adhering to the programme's fiscal targets was essential to ensuring Ghana successfully completed the IMF-supported programme.

"I have to make sure that this condition is met and it is for that reason that IMF is bold enough to go to their board that Ghana has achieved all the conditionalities of which they loaned us and so Ghana is actually exiting the IMF programme," he added.

He further argued that government spending alone cannot resolve every economic challenge, particularly inflation driven by food prices and global fuel shocks.

According to him, fiscal policy must work alongside monetary policy to address inflationary pressures, noting that the government had amended the Bank of Ghana Act to make inflation targeting a shared responsibility.

"It was not only the responsibility of the central bank. So for the first time we amended the Bank of Ghana Act to make inflation targeting a joint responsibility between the Ministry of Finance and the central bank so that all of us will target inflation," he said.

Despite recent concerns over inflation, Dr Forson expressed confidence that the government's disciplined fiscal approach would keep price growth within the target range.

"I'm not too worried because the outlook of inflation doesn't look bad. I think inflation will come back to 8 plus or minus 2. That is the target... and it is my hope that we'll end the year with inflation in 5 per cent," he said, maintaining that fiscal prudence remains necessary to safeguard Ghana's economic recovery.

Finance Minister, Hon. Ato Forson breaks it down for the ordinary Ghanaian.

Me: I have now understood why the NPP says Hon. Ato is not spending and even with this explanation, Dr. Bawumia will watch this and learn pic.twitter.com/ldVQpZUSPe

— PATRICK KWAME SAH (@KwameSah85545) July 24, 2026