{
  "id": 19758442,
  "title": "Ato Forson credits ‘shock therapy’ for Ghana’s two-year stabilisation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/ato-forson-credits-shock-therapy-for-ghanas-two-year-stabilisation-19758442",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-13T04:45:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Adom Online",
    "slug": "adom-online",
    "url": "https://www.adomonline.com/ato-forson-credits-shock-therapy-for-ghanas-two-year-stabilisation/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has praised an ambitious fiscal adjustment program for stabilizing Ghana's economy over the course of two years, asserting that the government intentionally surpassed its primary surplus objective to restore policy credibility. During an interview after unveiling the 2027 Budget, he described the strategy as \"shock therapy\", stating that it provided the necessary shock to the economy to stabilize something that would have ideally taken 10 years. Forson claimed that the measures hastened the recovery, offering the government the chance to concentrate on structural reforms and creating jobs. He pointed to the 2025 fiscal outcome as proof of the deliberate adjustment, explaining that while Parliament had set a primary surplus target of 1.5% of Gross Domestic Product, the government achieved 2.5%. In 2025, the target was for Dr Forson to achieve a 1.5% of GDP primary surplus, but he exceeded it by 2.5%, describing it as a down payment for policy credibility. When asked about concerns that reducing the primary surplus could leave a smaller fiscal buffer and demand greater discipline in the future, the minister argued that the additional adjustment in 2025 provided room to ease the position in 2027 without endangering stability. He explained that the extra adjustment saved 1% of GDP, which could be recouped in 2027 without harming the economy. Forson maintained that the government had exceeded expectations due to the scale of the economic challenge, emphasizing that they could accomplish these reforms in two years because of the measures they implemented to stabilize the economy. However, the finance minister warned that stabilization alone could not tackle the growing issue of youth unemployment, with 1.34 million Ghanaians aged 15-34 neither employed, in education, nor in training, a group termed NEET. He cautioned that this number could rise to about 1.7 million over the next four years without intervention. The minister stated that the government's New Economy agenda would restructure the economy and channel investment toward employment opportunities, focusing on eight areas where jobs would be created.",
  "summary": "Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has credited an aggressive fiscal adjustment programme with stabilising Ghana’s economy in two years, saying the government deliberately exceeded its primary surplus target to rebuild policy credibility. Speaking in an interview on Thursday after presenting the 2027 Budget to Parliament, he described the approach as “shock therapy”. “I call […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Starr FM",
        "title": "Ghana has restored economic stability, rebuilt confidence in less than two years – Ato Forson",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/ghana-has-restored-economic-stability-rebuilt-confidence-in-less-than",
        "published": "2026-11-12T20:34:37.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Ghana to establish convention bureau in 2027 to attract global conferences – Ato Forson",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/ghana-to-establish-convention-bureau-in-2027-to-attract-global",
        "published": "2026-11-12T21:25:33.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}