News Guide Africa

Tag: Finance ministry

  • Ghana’s sovereign risk drops as debt service falls below 20%

    Ghana’s sovereign risk drops as debt service falls below 20%

    By Adnan Adams Mohammed

     

    Ghana’s sovereign risk profile received a significant boost as the Finance Ministry reported a dramatic contraction in its debt-servicing absorption rate, dropping from a high of over 50% of national revenue to under 20%.

    For institutional holders of Ghanaian sovereign paper and frontier market investors, the sharp yield-to-revenue adjustment signals a structural improvement in debt sustainability, expanding liquidity buffers and mitigating near-term default risks.

    “In the past, Ghana spent over 50 percent of its national revenue on servicing debt,” stated Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson. “This left less money for schools, hospitals, roads, and other essential infrastructure. Today, I am proud to say that we have made significant progress. We now spend less than 20 percent of our revenue on servicing debt!”

    The improved debt profile is expected to enhance primary fiscal balances, giving the government greater flexibility to deploy capital into high-multiplier domestic investments without increasing its debt footprint.

    Fund managers view the reduction as a key operational de-risking event for the Ghanaian economy.

    “A debt-service ratio below 20% dramatically alters the risk-reward equation for institutional capital,” noted an Accra-based senior portfolio manager. “It creates real capacity for fiscal consolidation, stabilization of domestic credit markets, and greater predictable support for the cedi.”

    The lower service burden allows the government to focus on fiscal prudence, medium-term revenue mobilization, and capital expenditure without over-relying on secondary market borrowing.

    Market participants will monitor upcoming budget execution reports and IMF program benchmarks to evaluate the duration of these revenue gains and their long-term impact on sovereign yield curves.

     

  • Two economies, one country

    Two economies, one country

    Ghana’s growth rate depends on who you ask. That should worry the people who ask.

    BY THE KASOA ECONOMIST | ACCRA | AUGUST 3RD 2026

    Ask the African Development Bank how fast Ghana’s economy grew last year and the answer is 5.8%, with inflation down to 14.6% and the central bank’s policy rate cut by 350 basis points to 18%. Ask the World Bank and a rather different country appears with headline inflation of just 3.3% in February, a milder 5.1% growth forecast for 2026, and a story built less around monetary tightening than around a new offshore oilfield coming on stream. Both institutions are looking at the same economy. Neither is lying. That is the more unsettling possibility.

    Statistical disagreement between multilateral lenders is not new, and a gap of a percentage point or two in a growth forecast is the ordinary noise of economic modelling. What is harder to wave away is the inflation figure, where the AfDB’s 14.6% and the World Bank’s 3.3% are not measuring slightly different things. They appear to be measuring different months, different baskets, or different vintages of an economy that has been moving unusually fast. Ghana’s disinflation over the past two years has indeed been dramatic, but a nine-fold difference between two reputable sources is not a rounding error. It is a sign that Ghana’s statistical infrastructure is being asked to keep pace with a recovery that outran it.

    This matters more than it might seem. Investors, credit-rating agencies and Ghana’s own finance ministry all draw on these numbers to set expectations, price bonds and calibrate budgets. A pension fund manager in London deciding whether to buy Ghanaian eurobonds does not average the AfDB and World Bank figures. She picks whichever number suits her risk appetite, and worries about the other. A finance minister presenting a mid-year budget review, as Dr Cassiel Ato Forson did on July 23rd, must choose a single inflation assumption to build his numbers around, knowing that whichever he picks will be cited by critics as either too rosy or too gloomy. Divergent data does not average out into a sensible middle. It hands ammunition to whoever wants to make an argument.

    Some of the gap is methodological and defensible. The AfDB’s 14.6% plausibly reflects a year-on-year headline rate drawn from an earlier reading, capturing the tail end of Ghana’s post-crisis disinflation. The World Bank’s 3.3% looks more like a recent monthly print, taken after food and fuel prices had continued falling through the first quarter of 2026. Both can be true without contradicting each other, in the way that “it rained heavily this year” and “it is not raining right now” can both be accurate descriptions of the same country. The trouble is that neither institution’s report, in its public-facing summary at least, makes this clear enough for a non-specialist reader and precious few of the officials, journalists and traders who repeat these numbers are specialists in vintage-adjustment.

    There is a second, less charitable explanation, and it deserves airing rather than suppression, in the spirit of taking one’s own side’s argument seriously enough to test it. Multilateral development banks are not neutral computers. They are institutions with mandates, and mandates shape emphasis. The World Bank’s mission leans toward showcasing the success of the reforms it has helped finance the energy-sector clean-up, the cocoa restructuring, the new PECAN oilfield are all, in some sense, its own investment thesis vindicated. A lower inflation figure and a growth story anchored in new oil production reads as an institution pleased with its portfolio. None of this need be conscious cherry-picking. Institutions, like people, notice the data that confirms the story they are already telling.

    Ghana’s own statistical service is, in principle, the arbiter that should settle this. The Ghana Statistical Service publishes its own monthly consumer price index, and any credible number should ultimately be reconciled against it rather than triangulated from two foreign lenders with different reporting cycles. That the AfDB and World Bank figures diverge this sharply, rather than converging on the GSS’s own print, suggests both institutions are working from data with meaningfully different cut-off dates. This is an unglamorous explanation, but the likeliest one, and a reminder that “as of when” is doing more analytical work in African macroeconomic reporting than most headlines admit.

    The deeper lesson is not really about Ghana. Statistical capacity across much of sub-Saharan Africa remains thin, price surveys are conducted less frequently than in rich countries, and GDP rebasing exercises can move growth estimates by several percentage points overnight without the underlying economy having changed at all. When the underlying data infrastructure is this fragile, every multilateral report becomes less a measurement than an estimate wearing measurement’s clothing, and readers who treat these numbers with false precision are building conclusions on sand.

    None of this should curdle into blanket cynicism about African economic data, which is a lazier failure mode than the naive credulity it replaces. Ghana’s broad direction of travel such as falling inflation, a shrinking fiscal deficit, an oil sector adding new production, a currency under strain but not collapse, is consistent across every source, AfDB and World Bank alike, even where the decimal points disagree. The disagreement is real, but it is a disagreement about degree, not about direction. That is a meaningfully different, and less alarming, kind of uncertainty than it first appears.

    What Ghana needs, and what its statistical service, its finance ministry and its development partners could usefully coordinate on, is a single published reconciliation each quarter one table, one set of dated figures, footnoted by source and vintage, that journalists and analysts can cite without having to guess which institution’s number to trust this month. It is a modest, unglamorous fix for an unglamorous problem. But a country trying to convince bond markets it has left crisis management behind cannot afford to let its own success story be told in two contradictory voices at once.

     

  • IMF okays COCOBOD’s overhaul; demands farmgate prices align with world market to secure sector

    IMF okays COCOBOD’s overhaul; demands farmgate prices align with world market to secure sector

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has strongly endorsed the sweeping structural reforms currently being aggressively pursued by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).

    However, to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the sector, the global lender is demanding that local farmgate cocoa prices more dynamically reflect world market values.

    The IMF’s backing comes at a critical moment. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Dr. Randy Abbey, COCOBOD is already overhauling its administrative costs, operational frameworks, and financial scope to address decades-old perennial challenges that have burdened the institution’s balance sheet.

    Aligning Farmgate Prices with Global Realities

    Following its latest review of Ghana’s economic programme, the IMF highlighted the urgent necessity of streamlining costs within COCOBOD. While reinforcing the board’s current direction, the Fund explicitly tied the industry’s ultimate survival to a more flexible, market-driven pricing regime for local cocoa farmers.

    “Priority should be given to strengthening the legislative framework to streamline costs, including through more frequent farmgate price adjustments, improve efficiency, and ensure COCOBOD’s long-term financial sustainability,” the IMF stated in its mission summary.

    The Fund argues that a rigid pricing mechanism limits the board’s capacity to navigate volatile global commodity trends, making more frequent adjustments a necessary tool to protect the reforms already underway.

    COCOBOD’s Proactive Structural Overhaul

    Even before the IMF’s explicit endorsement, COCOBOD’s new management had recognized that its traditional operations were no longer sustainable. Decades of reliance on multi-billion dollar offshore syndicated loans have placed massive financial stress on the state cocoa manager, prompting Dr. Randy Abbey’s administration to finalise a groundbreaking new funding model ahead of the 2026/2027 cocoa season.

    The board plans to completely abandon legacy foreign syndications in favor of domestic financing models, a move the IMF views as a step in the right direction.

    Speaking on the shift, Dr. Randy Abbey explained how this new paradigm will directly integrate the pricing flexibility the IMF is calling for:

    “The new funding model will come with a new pricing mechanism which will involve periodic reviews, maybe quarterly, and will be used for the entire crop,” Dr. Abbey disclosed.

    He clarified that while the government remains firmly committed to paying cocoa farmers a minimum of 70 percent of the Free-On-Board (FOB) price, the introduction of periodic price reviews will allow farmgate returns to dynamically shift alongside exchange rates and global market trends.

    “The model would better protect farmers’ incomes from global cocoa price volatility,” Dr. Abbey added, reinforcing that COCOBOD’s internal goals mirror the IMF’s sustainability targets.

    Urgency for Legislative Framework Review

    Despite its approval of COCOBOD’s current trajectory, the IMF notes that administrative intentions must be legally cemented. The Fund is pushing for an immediate legislative framework review to officially back and institutionalize the operational and financial scope overhaul that the Dr. Randy Abbey leadership is pursuing.

    According to sector analysts, passing an updated legislative framework through Parliament is urgently required to legally anchor these automatic quarterly price adjustments and enforce stricter cost-cutting mandates across the board.

    The Ministry of Finance has echoed this urgency, validating the ongoing shakeup at the cocoa house. Commenting on the broader strategy to curb COCOBOD’s legacy debts and align with international partner expectations, Finance Ministry officials confirmed that the executive branch has mandated absolute expenditure discipline.

    “Cabinet has directed the initiation of immediate reforms at COCOBOD to streamline their operations and cut costs. Wasteful and uncontrolled expenditure practices are to be curtailed immediately,” the Ministry stated.

    As Ghana enters the next phase of its macroeconomic recovery, the IMF’s validation of COCOBOD’s domestic financing transition paired with the push for market-reflective farmgate pricing signals a definitive end to the business-as-usual approach in the country’s historic cocoa sector.

     

     

     

  • Inside the AI revolution reshaping Ghana’s ports

    Inside the AI revolution reshaping Ghana’s ports

    By Adnan Adams Mohammed

    At Ghana’s bustling maritime gateways, a silent, invisible revolution is unfolding. It doesn’t carry a badge or walk the docks, but it has managed to do what decades of manual inspections could not: pinpoint a staggering GH¢11 billion in hidden revenue leakages.

    The tool at the heart of this transformation is the ‘Publican’ AI system. While its deployment by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been hailed as a masterstroke in fiscal recovery, it has simultaneously become a lightning rod for a national debate involving the Ministry of Finance, parliamentary watchdogs, and trade unions.

    This is the analytical inside story of how Ghana is attempting to digitize its borders—and the friction that comes with it.

    The GH¢11 billion revelation

    The headline figure that has stopped the nation in its tracks is GH¢11 billion. This is the amount the GRA credits the Publican AI with exposing through “suspicious transactions.”

    For years, the ports were plagued by a phenomenon known as “value gap” or under-invoicing where importers declare the value of a luxury SUV as that of a salvaged sedan, or a shipment of high-end electronics as mere plastic parts. By utilizing global price benchmarking and real-time data analytics, Publican stripped away the anonymity of these transactions.

    “The AI system is a game-changer,” says Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, the Commissioner-General of the GRA. “It isn’t just about finding mistakes; it’s about identifying deliberate patterns of tax evasion that have drained the national purse for years.”

    Efficiency vs. friction: The speed debate

    Perhaps the most persistent criticism from the trading community specifically clearing agents was that adding a layer of AI analysis would “choke” the flow of goods, turning Tema and Takoradi into digital parking lots.

    However, the GRA has countered this with data of its own. The Authority maintains that Publican is actually speeding up trade. By acting as a sophisticated filter, the AI instantly clears “low-risk” cargo from compliant importers who have a history of honest declarations.

    “In the past, we had to slow everyone down to catch a few bad actors,” a senior customs official explained. “Now, the AI flags the 10% that are suspicious, allowing the other 90% to move through the gates faster than ever.”

    The question of sovereignty: Who makes the final call?

    A major point of analytical tension has been the fear of “Algorithm Governance” the idea that a machine might be unilaterally deciding how much a Ghanaian business owes in taxes.

    The GRA and the Ministry of Finance have been careful to clarify the AI’s mandate. The system is a “whistleblower,” not a “judge.” It does not determine the final customs value; instead, it generates a “red flag” when a declaration deviates significantly from global market norms.

    The final assessment remains in human hands. This “human-in-the-loop” architecture is designed to prevent technical glitches from causing financial ruin for importers, while still providing customs officers with the data-driven “ammunition” they need to challenge suspicious claims.

    Political heat and the “Truedare” controversy

    Despite the economic wins, the rollout has faced intense political scrutiny. Joseph Cudjoe, the Minister for Public Enterprises, recently raised alarms regarding potential revenue losses and the structure of the deal involving the AI’s parent company, Truedare.

    Cudjoe’s concerns center on the “cost-benefit” of the contract—specifically whether the fees paid to the technology providers might offset the gains made in revenue recovery. His “alarm” serves as a reminder that in the world of government procurement, even the most efficient technology must pass the test of transparency and value for money.

    The Ministry of Finance, however, has stood firmly behind the project. In a recent defense, the Ministry argued that the GH¢11 billion identified far outweighs any operational costs and that the system is essential for the nation’s survival under current global economic pressures.

    Stakeholder evolution: The IEAG turnaround

    One of the most telling signs of the system’s viability is the shifting stance of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG). Initially skeptical and vocal about their concerns, the association has recently moved to back the Publican system.

    This endorsement came only after the GRA and the technology providers addressed specific “pain points” regarding user interface and the speed of the flagging process. The IEAG’s support suggests that the private sector is willing to accept AI oversight—provided it remains fair, predictable, and transparent.

    The road ahead: A digital frontier

    As Ghana continues to grapple with debt and the need for domestic revenue mobilization, the “Publican” experiment is more than just a software rollout; it is a test case for the continent.

    The analytical reality is that the GH¢11 billion recovered is only the beginning. The real victory for the GRA will be “behavioral change”—a future where importers stop attempting to cheat the system because they know a tireless, 24/7 digital eye is watching every invoice.

    For now, the silicon gatekeeper remains at its post. The debate over its cost and its “intelligence” will likely continue in the halls of Parliament, but at the ports, the numbers speak for themselves. The machine has found the money; now, the state must ensure it keeps it.

     

     

  • Ghana, Afreximbank resolve US$750 million facility dispute

    Ghana, Afreximbank resolve US$750 million facility dispute

    The Ministry of Finance has announced that Ghana and Afreximbank have reached a successful resolution regarding the $750 million facility.

    In a joint statement, the Ministry of Finance and Afreximbank disclosed that all issues relating to the $750 million facilities signed in 2022 have been resolved, “with the satisfaction of both parties enabling both parties to continue to partner for Ghana’s development agenda.”

    Background

    On July 20, 2022, Parliament, at its 31st sitting of the Second Meeting of the Second Session, approved by resolution the Loan Facility Agreement between the Government of Ghana, represented by the Ministry of Finance, and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

    The move was influenced by challenges in securing funds from the capital market due to downgrades by all major ratings agencies.

    The facility was disbursed in three tranches, two denominated in US dollars and one in euros: US$187 million, €193 million, and US$332 million.

    The government was expected to enjoy a three-year grace period or moratorium for the facility. However, the US$187 million and €193 million tranches would have a tenor of seven years, while the US$332 million tranche would have a tenor of ten years.

    Sources say the government executed the facility agreement in August and met all conditions precedent for disbursement. The utilisation request was signed in August, and the government received SWIFT confirmation of the successful transfer of funds into the Bank of Ghana designated accounts on August 25, 2022.

     

    The Government of Ghana’s decision to include Afreximbank’s debts in a broader commercial debt restructuring plan, triggered by its IMF-backed bailout, did not go down well with Afreximbank.

    Afreximbank argued that its debts should be treated in the same way as Ghana’s obligations to the IMF and World Bank.

    Ghana, on the other hand, insisted that Afreximbank is not a multilateral institution and should therefore not be excluded from the restructuring. Afreximbank disagreed, arguing that it meets the criteria of a multilateral institution and should be spared from debt haircuts.

    This disagreement contributed to Fitch’s June 2025 downgrade of Afreximbank’s credit rating to just above junk status, citing uncertainty created by the debt positions of Ghana and Zambia.

    Despite this, government officials at a meeting in Abuja told JOYBUSINESS that positive progress had been made toward resolving the dispute.

    The joint statement, however, did not provide detailed information on the specific terms of the resolution reached between Ghana and Afreximbank.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • US$1.2 bn factory boom coming to Ghana …40 new factories between 2025–27

    US$1.2 bn factory boom coming to Ghana …40 new factories between 2025–27

    The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Agribusiness estimates that more than 40 medium-to-large manufacturing projects will come on stream between 2025 and 2027, accounting for over US$1.2 billion in investment.

    But even this optimistic projection does not take into account what would be by far the single biggest industrial project of all – the Atuabo Fertiliser Hub, an ambitious plan announced with Qatari partner Aljadad Group that has been reported as a US$5 billion investment to build a urea/ammonia fertiliser complex anchored at the Petroleum Hub in Atuabo in the Western Region.

    However, there are still uncertainties with regards to that mega-project – construction was scheduled to commence in late 2025 but has not, and detailed timelines for phased production start-ups and confirmed capacity remain subject to final investment agreements.

    Nevertheless there are an array industrial factories slated to commence operations next year and the year after. The 2026 budget and Ministry briefings have announced textiles and agro-processing at the centre of the next wave.

    Government has confirmed plans to establish three new garment factories – sited in Bono East, Central and Eastern regions respectively – as part of the 24-Hour Economy industrialization push.

    The finance ministry says the garment initiative alone is expected to create roughly 20,000 direct jobs and will begin operations in 2026, although firm commercial start dates for each plant will depend on the plans of the respective private partners.

    On agro-processing, officials have detailed a programme to operationalize seven agro-processing plants as imminently as 2026, across the Northern, Central, Ahafo, Bono, North East, Bono East and Western North regions – each focused on commodities such as yam, fish, poultry, cashew, rice, shea and palm kernel oil. Analysts support government’s assertion that these plants will both reduce post-harvest losses and provide guaranteed offtake for out-growers.

    Direct employment estimates are smaller per plant – each plant will employ hundreds of people, rather than thousands – but the supply-chain impact that they will generate should amplify their economic impact considerably.

    Ministry statements and recent cabinet-level presentations also point to a wider pipeline involving planned special economic zones and industrial cities such as the proposed Gomoa Central Special Economic Zone.

    There are also targeted investments in metals, rubber and leather processing, and a tranche of smaller value-addition plants financed or supported by the Ghana Exim Bank and other development partners including, notably, two cashew processing plants at Sampa and Aboabo.

    Already, after years of intermittent activity and prolonged rehabilitation talk, the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has restarted crude refining operations in the fourth quarter of 2025 following the resolution of financing and operational issues through the recent completion of a significant Turnaround Maintenance project a development that is expected to materially reduce Ghana’s downstream import bill and feed local fuel product supply chains.

    Exact sustainable refining throughput on restart and planned ramp-up schedules are being finalized by TOR and government stakeholders.

    But perhaps the boldest single headline planned project is the Atuabo Fertilizer Hub, an ambitious plan announced with Qatari partner Aljadad Group that has been reported as a US$5 billion investment to build a urea/ammonia fertilizer complex anchored at the Petroleum Hub in Atuabo, close to the gas processing plant from which it intends to draw feedstock for the requisite large power generation on which in will run.

    Government briefings say feasibility work and land arrangements are advanced and that the project is intended to use local gas feedstock and serve both domestic and regional fertilizer demand – which, if realized, would be among the largest industrial investments in the pipeline

    Public sources cite the Ministry’s headline total of 40 projects, involving total investment of over US$1.2billion as an aggregate of announced factories, private-sector commitments and pipeline deals being shepherded by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and GEIM Bank.

    But there are important caveats: many projects are still at the commitment, feasibility or early construction stage, meaning financing, off-take contracts, land clearances and utility connections for power, water and gas remain uncompleted and could therefore affect the commencement of actual industrial activity.

    Therefore the timelines given in public statements are plausible but subject to commercial negotiation and macroeconomic headwinds.

    However, if the government’s pipeline delivers even a portion of the projects on schedule, the near term will see more industrial capacity in garments, agro-processing, fertilizer and refining – sectors that raise local value-addition and could reduce import dependence.

    For investors and suppliers, the immediate opportunities are in construction supply chains, auxiliary services (logistics, power, water treatment), and upstream agricultural procurement. For policymakers, the priorities are clear: expedite permits, secure reliable utilities and lock in finance/off-taker agreements so announced projects can move from headline announcements to actual economic output.

     

    By Toma Imirhe

     

     

     

     

     

  • Ghana Signs Bilateral Debt Restructuring Agreement with Czech Republic

    Ghana Signs Bilateral Debt Restructuring Agreement with Czech Republic

    The Government of Ghana has signed its seventh bilateral debt restructuring agreement, this time with the Czech Republic, as part of its efforts to manage its external debt and promote economic stability.

     

    The agreement was signed earlier today by representatives of the two countries, with Mr. René Jakl, Director of the Claims and Recoveries Department at the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation (EGAP), representing the Czech Republic.

     

    Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ghana’s representative conveyed the country’s deep appreciation for the Czech Republic’s cooperation and support. Mr. Jakl described the agreement as a new chapter in the relationship between the two countries, which will open doors for future support.

     

    The ceremony was witnessed by Czech Ambassador Mr. Pavel Bílek and officials from the Ministry of Finance, highlighting the strong diplomatic ties between Ghana and the Czech Republic.

     

    This agreement is part of Ghana’s broader efforts to restructure its external debt and promote economic growth and stability. The government has been engaging with various creditors to secure agreements that will help the country manage its debt and achieve its economic objectives.

     

    The signing of this agreement is expected to further strengthen the relationship between Ghana and the Czech Republic, and promote future cooperation and support between the two countries.

  • Government set to Recapitalise ADB as Bank Posts Strongest Financial Performance in Years

    Government set to Recapitalise ADB as Bank Posts Strongest Financial Performance in Years

    The Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced the government’s decision to recapitalise the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) in the coming days.

    The announcement was made by the Finance Minister as part of the 2026 Budget Statement (page 145, item number 1191) presented to Parliament on Thursday, November 13, 2025.

    The decision has been hailed as timely and strategic, especially coming at a moment when the Bank is delivering its most impressive financial performance in decades.

    ADB posted pre-tax profit of GH¢447 million for the third quarter of 2025, more than double the GH¢176 million recorded over the same period last year.

    Profit after tax also surged to GH¢288 million, while total operating income climbed to GH¢1.71 billion, supported by solid growth in both interest and non-interest income.

    The Bank’s liquidity ratio is well above regulatory thresholds, ensuring comfort and easy access to funds and other banking transactions at any time by our customers.

    Against this backdrop of renewed progress, government’s planned capital injection is expected to accelerate ADB’s upward trajectory.

    In his comment on the 2026 budget statement presented by the Finance Minister to Parliament, the Managing Director of ADB PLC, Edward Ato Sarpong, expressed the deepest appreciation of the Bank to its shareholders, particularly the government, for the recapitalization decision.

    “The planned recapitalisation of ADB is a strong vote of confidence in the institution’s resilience, performance and national mandate,” the MD said. “ADB is on the verge of achieving a historic financial milestone, in terms of performance, and the planned recapitalisation provides a fresh momentum for the Bank to expand its operations and deepen support for national development,” he added.

    He assured all stakeholders of ADB’s commitment and determination to consolidate its gains in the immediate term and to accelerate its growth in the medium to long term. He further assured stakeholders of the steadfast determination of the Board, Management, and Staff to make the Bank (ADB PLC) great and among the top 3 leading and performing banks in Ghana.

    ADB remains committed to sustaining its growth momentum, strengthening governance, and delivering measurable impact in line with its mandate. As the Bank celebrates six decades of service, management believes the combination of strong underlying performance and stakeholder backing will position ADB to play an even greater role in Ghana’s development, a promise anchored in its brand philosophy, Beyond Banking.

    The recent performance of ADB, some industry analysts say, underlines the bank’s disciplined execution of its transformation strategy and improved operational efficiency, which have led to the growing confidence of customers and the general public in the bank’s strategic direction.

     

     

     

     

  • Int’l Currency Conference opens in Accra …as Mahama lauds MoF and BoG for Cedi stability

    Int’l Currency Conference opens in Accra …as Mahama lauds MoF and BoG for Cedi stability

    President John Dramani Mahama has commended the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for its efforts in stabilizing the cedi against other foreign currencies.

     

    He said this feat needs to be acknowledged and commended as it came as a result of hard work and economic prudence by the Bank of Ghana and the Finance Ministry.

     

    The Bank of Ghana has thereby been assured of the government’s commitment to make it independent given the critical role it plays in the stabilization of the economy. The President in his opening remarks described the cedi as indispensable as it symbolizes Ghana’s aspirations in the management of “our own affairs, regulating our markets and standing shoulder to shoulder with other global currencies.

     

    “The cedi@60 has shaped the expectations of households and businesses. It has absorbed shocks, domestic, regional, and global, and symbolize the resilience of Ghana’s economy”, he said at the opening ceremony of the International Currency Conference in Accra on Tuesday, organized by the BoG in collaboration with Currency Research (CR).

     

    Meanwhile, the BoG Governor, Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, paid a glowing tribute to the cedi, stating that it has remained central to policy-making for 60 years. He highlighted the cedi’s impact on families, businesses, and communities, and emphasized the need to protect and respect the currency.

     

    Dr. Asiama stressed that the next 60 years would require policymakers to ensure the cedi continues to serve Ghanaians’ aspirations. He also commended President Mahama for his support to the BoG, which has contributed to the cedi’s stability.

     

    The conference provides a platform for experts and policy leaders to discuss the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in the financial sector.

     

    By Adnan Adams Mohammed

  • Ghana launches world’s first digital Supply Chain Management Compendium

    Ghana launches world’s first digital Supply Chain Management Compendium

    Ghana has launched the digital and online version of the Supply Chain Management Compendium (SCMPEDIA), making the world’s only all-inclusive supply chain knowledge base instantly accessible to businesses, policymakers, students, and professionals worldwide.

    The digital platform builds on earlier print editions introduced in 2013 and 2015. It offers thousands of defined supply chain and procurement terms, standardising concepts to support industrialisation, strengthen AfCFTA trade, and accelerate Africa’s long-term economic growth.

    Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem, speaking at the launch on Wednesday, September 17, described SCMPEDIA as a vital tool for Ghana’s 24-hour economy and Africa’s development agenda.

    “A well-trained and knowledgeable supply chain workforce is critical… SCMPEDIA is not only a must-have for every Ghanaian and African citizen, but also a strategic resource for anyone committed to building competitive industries and sustainable economies,” he said.

    President of the Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply (GIPS), Simon Annan, added that SCMPEDIA links theory to practice and will help governments, businesses, and students make decisions that create jobs and build resilient supply chains.

    CEO of PanAvest International and pioneer of SCMPEDIA, Professor Douglas Boateng, stressed the company’s mission to democratise supply chain knowledge.

    He said both a mobile app and a French version will be available by December 31, 2025, broadening access across the continent.

    Prof Boateng noted that SCMPEDIA is more than a reference tool, describing it as “a movement to empower Africa and the world through knowledge.”

    He added that 15 per cent of subscription proceeds will support education, building the talent base needed to drive AfCFTA and achieve the aspirations of Agenda 2063.