Government to release new fiscal strategy plan

The government will, for the first time, publish a comprehensive fiscal strategy document before the 2027 budget, introducing a new framework deigned to improve transparency, strengthen fiscal planning and enhance the credibility of Ghana’s public finances.

The reform, announced in the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel AtoForson, will require the Ministry of Finance to publish a Fiscal Strategy Document by September each year, ahead of the presentation of the national budget.

The document will provide investors, businesses and policymakers with an early assessment of government’s fiscal outlook, medium-term policy priorities and the assumptions underpinning future budgets, while introducing new reporting standards aimed at improving transparency and strengthening fiscal discipline.

In contrast with the current budget process, which largely focuses on annual policy measures and expenditure proposals, the new framework will require government to publish no-policy-change fiscal baselines, reconcile previous fiscal projections with actual outcomes and disclose forecast errors in key macroeconomic and fiscal assumptions.

The introduction of baseline projections is expected to provide financial markets with a clearer distinction between the impact of existing government policies and the fiscal implications of new policy decisions.

Economists say this will improve the credibility of future budgets by making it easier to assess whether changes in revenue, expenditure and borrowing are driven by policy interventions or underlying economic conditions.

The Fiscal Strategy Document is expected to provide greater visibility over government’s borrowing plans, expenditure priorities and medium-term fiscal objectives before the annual budget is presented.

Earlier disclosure of fiscal assumptions could reduce policy uncertainty, improve market confidence and strengthen the pricing of government securities.

The document is also expected to improve accountability within the budget process. By requiring government to explain deviations between projected and actual fiscal outcomes, policymakers will face greater scrutiny over revenue performance, expenditure execution and macroeconomic forecasting.

The new reporting framework is expected to provide parliament, investors and development partners with additional tools to assess the consistency and credibility of fiscal policy.

The initiative aligns Ghana’s fiscal reporting framework more closely with international best practice, where medium-term fiscal strategy documents form an integral part of budget preparation and public financial management.

Such frameworks are widely regarded by multilateral institutions and sovereign investors as important instruments for strengthening fiscal governance, improving policy predictability and supporting macroeconomic stability.

The Fiscal Strategy Document forms part of a comprehensive set of institutional reforms outlined in the Mid-Year Budget Review. Government also intends to operationalize the Fiscal Council, strengthen expenditure controls and improve public financial management systems as it transitions from IMF programme implementation to a domestically anchored fiscal framework guided by the Policy Coordination Instrument agreed with the IMF.

The private sector also looks forward to the new reforms to improve planning and investment decisions by providing earlier guidance on government’s fiscal direction and financing requirements.

Banks, institutional investors and corporate treasurers rely heavily on fiscal projections when assessing interest rate expectations, liquidity conditions and sovereign borrowing programmes.

Businesses have long argued that greater predictability in fiscal policy is essential for investment planning. The publication of a Fiscal Strategy Document ahead of each national budget is expected to reduce uncertainty around government policy while reinforcing confidence in Ghana’s commitment to transparent and rules-based fiscal management.