The 10 Largest Economies in the World
Feb 15, 2025
Don’t Rush Back to Eurobond Market, Fix the Economy First – World Bank Warns Ghana
September 27, 2025
The World Bank has warned Ghana against making a hasty return to the Eurobond market, cautioning that such a move would be viewed by investors as taking the “easy way out.”
In its latest 2025 Policy Notes on Ghana, the Bank stressed that credibility cannot be rebuilt through new borrowing but rather through fiscal discipline, transparency, and bold reforms.
“Importantly, the new administration [Mahama Administration] should also refrain from a hasty return to the Eurobond market, which international investors would interpret as taking the easy way out,” the report said. “Instead, the government should focus on strengthening the country’s fiscal and growth fundamentals and on convincing the private sector… that public debt is on a sustainable path.”
The Bank emphasized that Ghana’s economic recovery hinges on strict adherence to the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy and full disclosure of the Annual Borrowing Plan. It urged the government to seize the post-election honeymoon period to implement politically challenging reforms and rebuild trust with both citizens and investors.
This advice comes as Ghana grapples with the aftermath of repeated crises. The World Bank noted that the country has entered 17 IMF programmes in its 68 years of independence, spending nearly 40 of those years under active Fund supervision.
“Sudden macroeconomic stops and crises have led the country to request a record number of IMF programmes, remaining under active IMF programmes for 40 out of its 68 years of history,” the report observed.
The Bank reiterated that Ghana’s 2022 economic collapse was not caused by COVID-19 or the Russia-Ukraine war, but by years of fiscal indiscipline, excessive borrowing, and weak financial management. It added that easy access to Eurobond markets in the past decade encouraged political shortsightedness and delayed critical reforms, leaving the economy vulnerable.
Even after debt restructuring and IMF assistance, the World Bank warned that Ghana remains at risk. “Reestablishing credibility will take time, but the process can start immediately,” it said.
President John Dramani Mahama has already echoed a similar position. In a recent media engagement, he stressed that Ghana should consolidate its economy before seeking external financing.
“We have survived without going to the capital markets. We’ve survived without borrowing. … As President, I would not favour a quick return to the international capital market. I think we should go like this for a while and consolidate the economy before we look at external financing,” he said.
The World Bank concluded that Ghana must signal a clean break from the past by enforcing fiscal rules, broadening the tax base, and reforming state-owned enterprises, particularly in the energy and cocoa sectors.
Failure to act decisively, it warned, could see Ghana once again locked out of international markets and stuck in its decades-long cycle of crisis and bailout.
