МВФ и Всемирный банк призывают Гану перейти от сокращения расходов к мобилизации внутренних ресурсов

ACCRA, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank Group has urged the Ghanaian government to anchor its fiscal consolidation on aggressive domestic resource mobilization to ensure sustainability. In its latest Ghana Economic Update report, launched Wednesday in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, the World Bank acknowledged that the country achieved a strong fiscal turnaround in 2025 and remained ahead of the targets set in the reform program backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "The 2025 fiscal results showed a big improvement from the problems in 2024, with the government's actions leading to a primary surplus of 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of 2025, which is much higher than the 1.5 percent of GDP target set in the IMF-backed reform program," the report said. According to the report, Ghana recorded a primary surplus of 0.9 percent of GDP during the first half of 2026, against a planned deficit of 0.2 percent. It explained that the better-than-expected results were mainly due to a significant reduction in capital spending, which was 38 percent less than what was planned, as the government denied some payment claims following an audit and slowed down project work after finalizing debt restructuring deals. It added that the government also contained current expenditure through wage caps, restraint on goods and services spending, and a reduction in energy-sector transfers. "Fiscal adjustment anchored primarily in spending cuts, particularly capital expenditure, is less sustainable than adjustment supported by structural revenue gains," it said. Robert Taliercio, World Bank division director for Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia, said that the report offers a clear message for the country: "Sustained fiscal consolidation over the medium term will require strengthening revenue mobilization." ■