The World Bank has unveiled a new set of policy recommendations aimed at helping Ghana achieve long-term economic transformation, with a clear warning that urgent reforms are needed to secure sustainable growth and job creation.
At the launch of the 2025 Policy Notes in Accra on Wednesday September 24, 2025. Robert Taliercio, the Bank’s Division Director for Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, said the report — “Transforming Ghana in a Generation” — offers a roadmap to foster broad-based growth, resilience, and shared prosperity.
Ghana has made significant progress in the past, cutting poverty in half between 1991 and 2016 and recording average growth of 6.8% between 2009 and 2019. But in recent years, rising macroeconomic challenges, capped by a severe 2022 crisis, have stalled progress. Between 2012 and 2023, only 250,000 net jobs were created, mostly in low-productivity sectors.
The Bank warned that without urgent reforms, fiscal pressures will deepen. For example, energy sector shortfalls cost the government US$1.4 billion in 2024, and are projected to reach US$2 billion by 2026 — funds that could otherwise support health, education, or infrastructure.
The 2025 Policy Notes outline four key pillars for transformation:
1. Restore and sustain macro-financial stability – by boosting domestic revenue mobilization, tackling fiscal stress, and advancing reforms in the energy and cocoa sectors.
2. Raise productivity and competitiveness – through investments in skills, health, and private sector growth, while reducing bottlenecks such as long business registration times and slow court processes.
3. Sustain natural resource management and resilience – with investments in climate-smart agriculture, agribusiness, and resilient infrastructure to diversify growth.
4. Strengthen governance and public institutions – to rebuild citizen trust and ensure reforms are effectively implemented.
Taliercio noted that with ambitious reforms, Ghana could triple per capita income by 2050 and move decisively toward upper-middle-income status.
He added that flagship government initiatives such as the 24-Hour Economy and the Big Push could catalyze these reforms if executed effectively. “The choices Ghana makes now can unlock a generation of inclusive, resilient growth,” he said.
The World Bank pledged its continued support, calling for stronger collaboration between government, the private sector, civil society, and international partners to drive the country’s transformation agenda.
