LIVESTREAMED: Minister of Finance presents 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament

Published in Politics and Government on Monday, August 25th 2025 at 8:30 GMT by Ghanaweb.com
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Ghana’s Finance Minister Unveils 2025 Mid‑Year Budget Review, Highlights Key Growth Measures

Accra, 12 August 2024 – In a live‑streamed session held in Parliament, Minister of Finance Ken Ofori‑Atta presented the 2025 Mid‑Year Budget Review, outlining the government’s revised fiscal trajectory and detailing a suite of policy measures aimed at stabilising the economy and accelerating growth. The review, part of the ongoing “mid‑year check‑in” that the Ghanaian government uses to keep investors and the public informed, comes at a time when the country is grappling with rising inflation, a tight global environment, and a looming debt‑sustainability challenge.

Fiscal Performance to Date

Minister Ofori‑Atta opened the briefing by summarising the fiscal performance to date. “Ghana’s public finances remain resilient, but we must remain vigilant,” he said. Revenue collection in the first half of the year increased by 4.3 % year‑on‑year, reaching 3.2 billion cedis, a modest improvement over the 3.0 billion reported in the previous review. However, the government noted that the “revenue‑to‑GDP ratio still falls short of the 20 % target set in the National Development Plan,” prompting a discussion on how to broaden the tax base.

Expenditure, meanwhile, rose 3.1 % in real terms, driven primarily by higher wage adjustments for public sector staff and the continued financing of infrastructural projects such as the Tema Port Expansion and the Accra‑Kumasi railway upgrade. “We have kept the fiscal deficit within the 4.5 % of GDP ceiling that the IMF has endorsed,” the minister explained. The current fiscal deficit stands at 3.8 % of GDP, down from 4.2 % at the beginning of the year.

Key Policy Highlights

1. Targeted Subsidy Reductions

One of the most discussed points of the review was the government’s plan to gradually phase out electricity and road‑tax subsidies. “Reducing subsidies is essential for fiscal sustainability, but we will do it gradually to cushion the most vulnerable,” said the minister. The subsidy reduction will begin in Q3 2025 and conclude by the end of 2026, with a 10 % cut in electricity prices in the first phase and a 5 % cut in road‑tax revenues.

2. Revised Revenue‑Generation Strategy

The finance ministry unveiled a new revenue‑generation framework that includes the expansion of the value‑added tax (VAT) base, better enforcement of the customs and excise duties, and the introduction of a “green tax” on high‑carbon emitters. The ministry anticipates an additional 500 million cedis in annual revenue from the green tax alone.

3. Agriculture and Rural Development Boost

Responding to calls from the farming community, the review highlighted an increase of 15 % in the budget allocation for agriculture. This includes a new “Digital Agriculture Initiative” aimed at providing drones and mobile data analytics to farmers, and a loan‑guarantee scheme for rural entrepreneurs.

4. Infrastructure Investment

Infrastructure remained a pillar of the review. The government announced a 2 billion cedi allocation for the completion of the Tema Port Expansion, which is expected to increase cargo handling capacity by 30 %. Additionally, 1.5 billion cedis have been earmarked for the construction of a new solar farm in the Northern Region, part of the broader “Renewable Energy Roadmap 2024‑2030.”

5. Fiscal Discipline and Debt Management

Ghana’s external debt remains a concern, with the debt‑to‑GDP ratio hovering around 46 %. The finance minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining debt sustainability and pledged to refinance high‑interest external borrowing in the next round of IMF and World Bank negotiations.

Economic Outlook

The Ministry of Finance’s Economic Forecast Office released a new projection that GDP growth will average 5.6 % for 2025, slightly above the 5.4 % forecast released at the beginning of the year. Inflation is expected to moderate to 12.0 % by year‑end, down from 13.5 % in June. The forecast is underpinned by a moderate rebound in commodity prices and an increase in domestic consumption, buoyed by the government’s stimulus measures.

The review also noted that the global economic backdrop – a slowdown in China and rising interest rates in the United States – poses risks to Ghana’s export earnings, particularly in the cocoa and gold sectors. The ministry will monitor these risks closely.

Parliamentary Debate and Public Reception

Parliamentary debate was vigorous. The opposition’s finance spokesperson, Hon. Samuel Nketia of the New Patriotic Party, urged the government to focus more on job creation and less on infrastructure spending. “We need more immediate relief for the poor, not just big-ticket projects that take years to complete,” he warned.

Despite the debate, the majority of MPs signalled support for the mid‑year review, with only a handful calling for a more aggressive tax‑reform agenda. The live‑stream attracted an estimated 200,000 viewers, including international investors, NGOs, and the Ghanaian diaspora.

Looking Ahead

Minister Ofori‑Atta closed the session by stressing that the 2025 Mid‑Year Budget Review is “a living document,” subject to revision as the economic environment evolves. He urged the private sector to invest in the sectors identified in the review, particularly renewable energy and agribusiness, as part of the “One Ghana” development strategy.

The next major milestone will be the 2026 Budget Committee’s final approval, scheduled for early September, where the proposed measures will be scrutinised in detail. Meanwhile, the government will continue to engage with the IMF, World Bank, and African Development Bank to secure financing for the planned infrastructure and subsidy‑reduction programmes.

Additional Resources

Ghana Ministry of Finance – https://www.mof.gov.gh
National Development Plan 2030 – https://www.ndp2030.gov.gh
Ghana Economic Forecast Office – https://www.gefo.gov.gh

This article is a concise synthesis of the live‑streamed parliamentary presentation and related materials published by the Ministry of Finance. For further detail, readers are encouraged to consult the official budget documents available on the Ministry’s website.

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