The World Bank has urged Ghana to chart a bold new course toward economic transformation by breaking its cycle of reliance on International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan-supported programmes.
In its latest policy assessment, the Bank acknowledged the short-term benefits of IMF interventions but cautioned that they fall short of addressing Ghana’s long-term development and stability needs.
The report, titled “Transforming Ghana in a Generation,” stressed that fiscal discipline, sound governance, and far-reaching structural reforms are the only sustainable pathways to prosperity.
“Ghana must break from past governance failures marked by fiscal indiscipline, inefficiency, and repeated IMF programmes,” the Bank noted, warning that without decisive reforms, the country risks entrenching a pattern of economic fragility.
According to the Policy Notes, Ghana has the potential to sustain annual growth rates above 6.5% and triple its per capita income by 2050, but only if bold policy actions are implemented.
Weak structural transformation and continued dependence on natural resources were cited as the biggest obstacles to economic resilience.
The World Bank identified four pillars that could anchor Ghana’s transformation: restoring macro-financial stability, boosting productivity and jobs, ensuring sustainable natural resource management and agricultural resilience, and reinforcing governance.
These, it said, must be underpinned by stronger revenue collection systems, tighter expenditure management, and reforms in high-risk sectors such as energy and cocoa to reduce fiscal vulnerabilities.
The report further called for a friendlier business environment that attracts investment into high-productivity industries, alongside improvements in education, health, and social protection to enhance human capital.
It also urged Ghana to invest in resilient agriculture and infrastructure to support inclusive growth, while strengthening public institutions, intensifying anticorruption efforts, and building trust in governance.
“Ghana has a unique opportunity to restore fiscal discipline, improve governance, and leverage natural and human capital resources for broad-based and inclusive development to transform the country within a generation,” said Robert Taliercio, the World Bank’s Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
He added that Ghana’s path to sustained growth depends on its ability to emulate countries that have avoided the middle-income trap by maintaining macroeconomic stability, low inflation, and sustainable public finances.
Stefano Curto, the Bank’s Lead Economist and principal author of the report, emphasised the urgency of present decisions. “The choices Ghana makes now can unlock a generation of inclusive, resilient growth, and deliver on the promise of quality jobs for its citizens,” he said.
Curto reaffirmed the World Bank’s commitment to working with Ghana’s leadership and stakeholders to ensure that the necessary reforms take root.
“We stand ready to support Ghana in implementing this agenda,” he stated.
The report is expected to reignite debate on Ghana’s frequent recourse to IMF assistance, which critics argue has become a crutch rather than a cure.
For the World Bank, however, the way forward is clear: Ghana must take ownership of its economic future and commit to reforms that can secure prosperity for generations to come.
