Ato Forson Being Considered as Ghana’s Finance Minister – Bloomberg
Ghana’s President-elect John Mahama is considering appointing Cassiel Ato Forson, an accountant, as the West African nation’s finance minister, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The incoming leader will announce his cabinet after he’s sworn into office on Jan. 7. Forson, who graduated in taxation from the University of Oxford and also has a doctorate in finance from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, served as deputy finance minister under Mahama’s last administration.
A spokesman for Mahama didn’t respond to telephone calls and a text message seeking comment.
The role will be critical after Mahama won the Dec. 7 election in a landslide, pledging to slow inflation and reduce Ghana’s crushing debt. The minister will have to reduce spending and boost government revenue in a country that has seen inflation exceed 20% for more than two years.
Once an investor darling, Ghana is only just starting to recover from one of its worst economic and debt crises. In 2022, the country reluctantly sought a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund because it couldn’t keep up with debt payments that were consuming more than half of government revenues.
Forson, 46, has been a lawmaker for the National Democratic Congress party and a member of the parliament’s finance committee for the past eight years, a role in which he has scrutinized state spending and called for more transparency. On Dec. 10, he was named to a transition team that will be meeting with the outgoing administration to get abreast of state affairs.
I believe Ato is more than capable! He must be given the opportunity to prove his capability.