President John Dramani Mahama has cautioned members of the Presidential Advisory Group on the Economy that Ghana faces formidable challenges, despite what he described as measurable progress in recent months.

Addressing the newly sworn-in committee at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, February 11, the President emphasised his confidence in their expertise should not be mistaken for any belief that the task before them would be straightforward.

“I do not want this committee to misunderstand my optimism in the advice you will offer as an endorsement of an easy task ahead,” he said.

“You are all qualified and experienced enough to know that we face a tough road ahead, regardless of the progress we may have chalked up to date.”

President Mahama acknowledged that Ghana once again finds itself in debt distress, despite having previously sought relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and publicly resolved never to return to such circumstances.

“As a nation, we find ourselves in debt distress after having previously declared HIPC and solemnly assuring ourselves that we would never return to such a position,” he stated.

“That experience should have permanently altered our fiscal culture.”

He lamented that, instead of entrenching fiscal discipline, the country had eroded critical financial safeguards.

“Unfortunately, we dissipated significant buffers and stabilisers that could have shielded our citizens from the painful domestic debt haircut that they ultimately had to endure,” he said, in reference to the recent restructuring measures that imposed losses on bondholders.

The President also turned his attention to the petroleum sector, highlighting what he described as missed opportunities following substantial investments in three oil fields.

Ghana, he noted, had positioned itself as an emerging petroleum economy but failed to sustain investor confidence.

“After investing in three oil fields and positioning ourselves as an emerging petroleum economy, we allowed policy inconsistency and investor uncertainty to drive existing and potential investors to competing jurisdictions,” he remarked.

According to President Mahama, the outcome has been a decline in crude oil production at a time when the country should have been consolidating its gains and building resilience in preparation for the global energy transition.

“The result has been a declining trajectory of crude oil output at a time when we should have been strengthening our position and preparing for the energy transition,” he added.

He urged the Advisory Group to confront these realities candidly and to provide robust, evidence-based guidance to help restore macroeconomic stability, rebuild fiscal buffers and renew investor confidence.