.

GOD is good! Ready to learn.

[Bright Simons @BBSimons]

1.  You learn as a young policy analyst in Ghana to read every budget…and the mid-year reviews too.

2.  Simply because the other ministries barely document any policies, so the budget is where the juice is!

3.  Now that we are not so young 😉, we still read but with even greater attention to the cardinal rule: ignore the Finance Minister’s flowery prose and focus on the number tables. Only the tables.

4.  Having read the latest mid-year review, I am happy to report that the economic recovery is no doubt REAL.

5.  Much credit to the Finance Minister who has been so efficiently brutal in withholding funds and forcing MDAs to manage somehow.

6.  But the risks to the recovery are also very real. For one thing, some of the boosts are steroids. Which means the hangover won’t be pretty. See the attached sheet for more info.

A few highlights:

7.  Gold now props up everything. Should prices fall, everything would be hit the cedi, reserves, taxes, debt, everything!

8.  The debt stock has climbed up to ~$64bn. On the eve of the default in 2022, Refinitiv Eikon reported total debt of $55bn. Much of the improvement is thus exchange rate related.

9.  The Finance Ministry has taken over from the Bank of Ghana in financing the GoldBod trading book. However, the claim that the cost per ounce of gold went down "from 14.5 per cent of gold purchased to 5.0 per cent" (para. 351, p. 38) is curious as they don’t define what "cost" means.

10. Moreover, 5 per cent of the US$16bn gold purchase sum is US$800m, which does not obviously reconcile with the GH¢5bn government is budgeting for GoldBod.

11. A US$9.8 billion debt storm is coming by 2028. The government is putting money in a piggybank called “Sinking Fund” steadily to offset it but it is barely going to cover 30% of the amount.

12. One of the government’s tools for making the fiscal books look good is simply not to pay the bills. Of about US$7.8 billion of contractor bills it has agreed to pay, only US$466 million was cleared, 62% lower than promised in the budget.

13. Most bizarrely, some contractor has gone to court and got a Judge to freeze the Contingency Fund, but the Finance Ministry won’t tell us who it is.

14. Meanwhile, about US$800 million can’t be neatly reconciled and has been left as a “discrepancy”.

15. The tax situation is still a bit annoying for the Finance Minister. He missed his VAT and levies targets.

16. Ghana's forex is still leaking like a sieve. Despite record trade surpluses, forex reserves fell US$0.9 billion and the cedi lost 7.9%. The suggestion is that about US$6 billion leaked out.

17. The energy sector remains a drain. Shortfalls reached US$605 million (energy consumed but somehow not paid for.) Plans to clear legacy arrears of US$218 million somehow fell by the roadside.

18. In short, things are looking up, but it is NOT yet Uhuru. Not by a long stretch.

More grease to the elbows of the mandarins at the Finance Ministry as they keep working to slay the dragon.

[Cassiel Ato Forson (PhD) @Cassielforson]

The construction of the Adawso–Ekye Amanfrom bridge is expected to transform transportation in the Afram Plains, strengthen trade links, and support agricultural development!

[Cassiel Ato Forson (PhD) @Cassielforson]

Inflation is falling.
The cedi is holding firm.
Businesses are breathing again.

To every trader, every entrepreneur, every worker who has persevered through difficult times, this recovery belongs to you.

[. @chiefbute]

I’m going to @NorvanReports’s upcoming Space. Will you join too? https://t.co/1hPcMwigU9

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🌎⭐️ OFFICIAL: FIFA release their 2026 World Cup best XI.

Any changes you’d make?

[BBC News Africa @BBCAfrica]

"Chairman Wontumi" sentencing has Ghana's main opposition party reacting with anger.

Bernard Antwi Boasiako is the first senior politician in Ghana to be convicted of illegal mining since the government began a crackdown on the practice in 2017.

https://t.co/lfXUbxCNjm

[Mohamad Safa @mhdksafa]

No one is born racist, it’s taught. Quit teaching it.

[Odekro @odekro]

The House has approved by resolution the credit facility amounting to $300m to finance the secondary education transformation for access, relevance and results for jobs project. #GhParliament

[Manhyia Palace @ManhyiaPalace]

Ejisuhemaa Nana Yaa Asantewaa II pays homage to Asantehemaa Nana Yaa Akyaa II

[Manhyia Palace @ManhyiaPalace]

Dagbon Traditional Council formally informs Otumfuo about the passing of Ya-Na Abukari II

[Manhyia Palace @ManhyiaPalace]

Asafohene pays homage to Asantehemaa Nana Yaa Akyaa II

[Manhyia Palace @ManhyiaPalace]

Dagbon Traditional Council formally informs Asantehene of Ya-Na Abukari Mahama II’s passing

Details here: https://t.co/0liwss2gOS

#opemsuoradio

[CAPITAL VISSION 🚀 @CapitalVissionX]

Humans are the noblest of all creations, aren't they? Then how did this creation fall to such a low standard?

[Reads with Ravi @readswithravi]

I’m in love with this sentence:

“Your future is shaped by the habits you repeat, not the goals you set.”

[Dear Son. @DearS_o_n]

Man to man.

[TaxLawGH @taxlawgh]

Ghana's general company rate is 25%. Qualifying manufacturing income may be taxed at 18.75% in regional capitals outside Accra and Tema, or 12.5% outside Accra, Tema and the regional capitals. Qualification, actual production location and income tracing still matter. Rate guide: https://t.co/PPJ4D6uwlv

[Odekro @odekro]

Tribunals Bill, 2026 - at the consideration stage. #GhParliament

Read the Bill: https://t.co/Q50Cj88R2p

[Owuraku Ampofo @_owurakuampofo]

England have scored against every goalkeeper they have faced at this World Cup except 🇬🇭 Benjamin Asare 🔥

[Kasapreko PLC @Kasaprekogh]

Mix It Up! Wrap up the week with the timeless duo.

#kasapreko #londonlife #gin #drinkup #goodlife #ghana #upsa #legon #july