Ghana should strengthen its economic buffers to guard against external shocks as it prepares to exit its programme with the International Monetary Fund in the coming months, New Juaben North Member of Parliament Nana Osei-Adjei has said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, Osei-Adjei, who is also a member of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, noted that recent upward revisions to Ghana’s growth outlook by the IMF were encouraging but should not lead to complacency, given rising global uncertainty.

The IMF has revised Ghana’s growth projection upward, even as it cut forecasts for global growth amid escalating geopolitical tensions, including the conflict in the Middle East.

Osei-Adjei said the divergence underscores the volatility of the global environment and the need for Ghana to prepare for sudden external shocks.

“If this war continues, it’s going to have a significant effect on the global economy,” he said, referring to rising uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict and broader geopolitical tensions.

He added that Ghana’s improved growth outlook should be viewed within the context of fragile global conditions, where inflation expectations have been revised upward in several economies while growth forecasts have been downgraded elsewhere.

Osei-Adjei also pointed to lessons from recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Ghana’s economy came under severe strain.

“When COVID struck, our economy nearly came to a standstill, and things were very difficult for us,” he noted, adding that the experience highlighted the importance of fiscal preparedness.

The comments come as Ghana prepares to exit its IMF-supported programme, which has anchored a series of fiscal and monetary reforms aimed at stabilising inflation, restoring debt sustainability, and strengthening external balances.

“Managers of the economy should build buffers to make the economy more resilient,” he urged, calling on policymakers to prioritise the accumulation of fiscal buffers to withstand future shocks, including commodity price volatility, global financial tightening, and geopolitical disruptions.

Osei-Adjei further emphasised the need for the government to sustain reforms implemented under the programme beyond its conclusion, warning against policy slippage once external oversight diminishes.

His remarks reflect broader concerns among policymakers across sub-Saharan Africa about the durability of post-crisis recoveries in the face of persistent global volatility.

He stressed that the current environment—shaped by geopolitical tensions and shifting commodity prices—requires proactive economic management rather than reliance on short-term improvements in growth indicators.