Sunday, October 19

Tag: Dr Cassiel Ato Forson

Government Increases Cocoa Producer Price to GHS3,625 Per Bag for 2025/26 Season
No Comments
Business

Government Increases Cocoa Producer Price to GHS3,625 Per Bag for 2025/26 Season

The Government of Ghana has announced an upward adjustment in the producer price of cocoa for the 2025/2026 crop season, offering relief to farmers across the country. Following consultations with stakeholders, the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC), chaired by the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has increased the price from the previously announced GHS3,228.75 per bag to GHS3,625 per bag, equivalent to GHS58,000 per tonne. This new price represents an increment of about GHS400 per bag, translating into a 12.27 percent rise compared to the earlier figure announced on August 4, 2025. The new producer price will take effect from Friday, October 3, 2025. Dr. Forson assured that while margins, fees, and rates to other stakeholders remain unchanged, government remains...
Read More
Government Settles GH¢9.7 Billion Coupon Under Domestic Debt Exchange Programme
No Comments
Business

Government Settles GH¢9.7 Billion Coupon Under Domestic Debt Exchange Programme

The Ministry of Finance has confirmed the successful settlement of a coupon payment worth GH¢9.7 billion under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP). According to the Ministry, the total payment made on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, amounted to GH¢9,698,815,220.17, pushing cumulative disbursements under the DDEP for this year alone to approximately GH¢19.4 billion. Officials say the move highlights government’s determination to honour commitments made under the Memorandum of Understanding governing the DDEP, a policy designed to restructure the country’s domestic debt. “This payment demonstrates government’s unwavering commitment to meeting its obligations under the programme,” the Ministry stated, adding that the action is expected to boost investor confidence and reinforce fis...
Read More
Finance Ministry Invites Public Contributions to 2026–2029 National Budget
No Comments
Business

Finance Ministry Invites Public Contributions to 2026–2029 National Budget

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has called on the general public, business associations, professional bodies, financial institutions, civil society organizations, and faith-based groups to submit proposals for consideration in the preparation of the 2026–2029 Budget Statement and Economic Policy. In a statement issued in Accra, the Ministry expressed appreciation for the valuable contributions stakeholders have made to past national budgets and reiterated its commitment to ensuring broad citizen participation in the budget process. The Ministry announced that preparations for the 2026–2029 budget are already underway, ahead of its presentation to Parliament by November 15, 2025. The call for input, it said, aligns with government’s goal of developing inclusive policies that respond to ...
Read More
President Mahama Appoints Acting Ministers for Defence and Environment Portfolios Following Tragic Loss
No Comments
Politics

President Mahama Appoints Acting Ministers for Defence and Environment Portfolios Following Tragic Loss

President John Dramani Mahama has appointed two senior government officials to assume additional ministerial responsibilities following the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Ghana’s Minister for Defence and Minister for Environment, Science, and Technology. In a statement issued by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, MP and Spokesperson to the President and Minister for Government Communications, it was announced that: Hon. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, current Minister for Finance, will assume additional responsibilities as Acting Minister for Defence. Hon. Emmanuel Kofi Armah Buah, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, will now also serve as Acting Minister for Environment, Science, and Technology. The appointments come in the wake of the tragic helicopter crash on August 6, ...
Read More
Ghana Pays US$349.52 Million Eurobond Debt, Completes 2025 Obligations
No Comments
Business

Ghana Pays US$349.52 Million Eurobond Debt, Completes 2025 Obligations

The Government of Ghana has successfully completed its scheduled Eurobond debt service obligations for the year 2025, with a final payment of US$349.52 million made today through the Bank of Ghana. This was announced in an official statement from the Ministry of Finance, confirming that a total of US$349,523,674.56 was paid on Thursday, July 3, 2025, as part of Ghana’s ongoing commitment to its post-restructuring debt obligations. The latest payment brings Ghana’s cumulative Eurobond debt service since the country’s debt restructuring in October 2024 to US$1.174 billion, broken down as follows: October 2024: US$475.60 million – Initial payment following the restructuring agreement. January 2025: US$349.52 million. July 2025: US$349.52 million. With these payments, the g...
Read More
Ghana-India trade hits $3 billion amid strong bilateral ties – Foreign Minister
No Comments
Business

Ghana-India trade hits $3 billion amid strong bilateral ties – Foreign Minister

Trade between Ghana and India has reached an impressive $3 billion with Ghana maintaining a favourable balance, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa disclosed on Monday ahead of the historic state visit of Indian Prime Minister Mr Shri Narendra Modi. In addition to the strong trade performance, Mr. Ablakwa highlighted India’s longstanding role as a trusted development partner, having extended to Ghana lines of credit exceeding US$450 million over the past two decades. These credit facilities, he said, had supported numerous transformative projects across sectors such as energy, agriculture, ICT, transport, and education, a testament to the depth of India-Ghana economic cooperation. Mr. Ablakwa, speaking at a press brifing in Accra, said the visit is expected to further...
Read More
Put differences aside in finding solutions to economic challenges – Finance Minister
No Comments
Business

Put differences aside in finding solutions to economic challenges – Finance Minister

Ghanaians have been urged to put their differences aside in finding solutions to the country's current economic challenges. Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minister of Finance, who made the call, said there was the need to forge ahead, as a people, and put together a policy to guide efforts in tackling the economic woes. Speaking during the National Economic Dialogue on Monday in Accra to help address the challenges, Dr Forson said since no one person was a repository of knowledge, it was incumbent on all Ghanaians to support to change the situation. He said the dialogue, similar to the one held 10 years ago at Senchi in the Eastern Region, was to reflect on the economic challenges, address them and plan for the future. It would use dialogue, among other things, to reset the economy...
Read More
Full length of economic crisis still unravelling – Finance Minister
No Comments
Business

Full length of economic crisis still unravelling – Finance Minister

Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minister of Finance, says the Government is yet to have a full understanding of the economic crisis as the situation keeps unraveling with time. The depth of the crisis, he said, would require significant sacrifices from citizens to “stem the bleeding” and put the economy back on track. “Fellow countrymen and women, the economic crisis isn't over. Indeed, the full length of our current crisis is still unravelling by the day,” he said during a presentation on: “The true state of the Ghanaian Economy” at the 2025 National Economic Dialogue on Monday. The theme for the two-day event is: “Resetting Ghana: Building the Economy We Want Together”. He observed that over the decade, there had been very limited progress in structural transformation of the econo...
Read More
Finance Minister raises concerns over tax exemptions and extractive sector under-capitalization
No Comments
Business

Finance Minister raises concerns over tax exemptions and extractive sector under-capitalization

Finance minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has expressed serious concerns about the negative impact of tax exemptions on Ghana's revenue mobilisation and the under-capitalisation of the extractive sector. He highlighted the significant fiscal challenges facing the nation, stressing that tax exemptions on Value Added Tax (VAT), Personal Income Tax (PIT), and import duties are estimated to result in a "staggering" 3.9 percent loss of GDP. The Minister made the statement during a presentation on the true state of Ghana's economy at the two-day National Economic Dialogue in Accra on Monday.   He emphasised that those figures did not include corporate income tax exemptions, which further exacerbated the revenue shortfall. "While these exemptions often offer temporary relief, they ...
Read More
IMANI President lauds Dr Forson’s appointment as Finance Minister
No Comments
Business

IMANI President lauds Dr Forson’s appointment as Finance Minister

Mr Franklin Cudjoe, the Founding President of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, has lauded the appointment of Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson as the finance minister-designate, describing it as "sensible". In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, he recalled how in April 2024, he had an opportunity to engage with Dr Forson to discuss what must be done to prevent further damage to the nation's “jalopy economy.”  Mr Cudjoe said he had invited Dr Forson to meet a small team of Ghanaian and British consultants the British Government recently engaged to design a modest £5m programme - the Financial and Economic Resilience in Ghana (FERG) programme. That was to complement existing workstreams, and those of other development partners, to address Ghana’s longstanding challenge...
Read More
//otieu.com/4/4670376