President-elect, John Mahama has outlined a series of planned reforms aimed at curbing the country’s debt, boosting local industries, and revamping procurement laws.

One of the central proposals is to transform the Debt Management Division of the Ministry of Finance into an independent and transparent office, which would help prevent unchecked debt accumulation by the finance minister.

Mr Mahama emphasised the importance of accountability in managing Ghana’s national debt, calling for a more structured approach to fiscal governance.

Speaking on Tuesday, December 17, during a visit by U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, at his office, the president-elect proposed key changes to improve fiscal responsibility and ensure accountability in managing the nation’s finances.

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“We will consult with the captains of industry and business regularly so that we know what your concerns are, and then we will address those concerns together. We probably would not have borrowed as rapidly as was done and sunk ourselves into debt. These are some of the mistakes that have been made that we must use as lessons for the future,” he said.

“We intend to carry out some reforms in terms of our financial reforms to ensure that another Finance Minister doesn’t come along who is a law unto himself and does some of the things this person has done to create the problem that we have.”

In addition to fiscal reforms, Mr Mahama discussed the incoming government’s plans to promote locally made goods. He criticized the practice of prioritizing foreign products over domestic ones and suggested that fixing competitive prices for locally produced items would encourage their purchase.

He further proposed a system where certain local brands, such as cooking oil, would become the primary options for consumers.

“We must fix competitive prices, and we must give a caviar that if you want to buy cooking oil, you must buy these brands you have no option to buy any other brand. Once we know what the prices are, then we know they can concentrate on buying made-in-Ghana products, even if it is marginally more expensive. It creates jobs locally rather than creating jobs in another country,” he explained.

Mr Mahama also expressed confidence in his government’s ability to secure innovative financing models for infrastructural projects.

He believes that proper feasibility studies can attract both local and international investors to fund vital infrastructure development, including railways, roads, and highways.

“We need to do the railways, we need to fix the roads and the highways, and many other infrastructural developments. I believe that we can get people who have the investment if we do proper feasibility studies to come and put in the infrastructure, run it, and hand it over to us at the appropriate time,” he stated.