The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has delivered a rare note of optimism on Ghana’s economic performance, with its Resident Representative describing 2025 as a strong year anchored by fiscal discipline and firm policy choices.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, Dr Adrian Alter said the IMF’s typically cautious outlook made the assessment even more significant.

“The IMF typically is conservative in their assessment and projections. We typically want to be surprised when it comes to growth,” he said. “But overall, I would say 2025 has been a very good year.”

At the centre of that assessment, Dr Alter said, was the government’s commitment to fiscal discipline, which helped stabilise the country’s public finances after years of strain.

“The fiscal discipline helped to put the public finances in order,” he said.

He linked the improved outlook to coordinated macroeconomic policies, particularly to the Bank of Ghana's role in maintaining currency stability.

“The tight monetary policy and the accumulation of reserves by the Bank of Ghana helped with the cedi stability as well,” he said.

Beyond short-term stabilisation, the IMF official also pointed to reforms that he said would shape Ghana’s fiscal credibility going forward.

“And then in terms of reforms, I would say a key structural reform implemented in 2025, there were many,” he said. “But one key reform is the improvement to the Fiscal Responsibility framework, the Fiscal Responsibility Act.”

Dr Alter said the changes strengthened Ghana’s fiscal rules and laid the groundwork for stronger oversight.

“That basically adds to fiscal rules and the plan to implement an independent fiscal Council,” he said.