Fiscal Restraint by Gov’t a Significant Contributory Factor to Easing Inflation – Joe Jackson
Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson, has praised the government’s fiscal discipline, arguing that it has played a central role in the recent decline in Ghana’s headline inflation.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Point of View programme on Monday, Mr Jackson contrasted the present administration’s approach with that of its predecessor, saying the government’s restraint in debt issuance and spending had helped curb price pressures.
“Inflation, as we saw in 2024, was high partly because of consistent high food prices. In 2025, the rains have been decent and there’s increased food production and so we obviously have become beneficiaries of the good weather. But more important in my opinion, is the fiscal restraint that the government has exercised,” he remarked.
He cited the Treasury bill market as an example, pointing out that the government now only accepts the amount it intends to raise at auctions, regardless of oversubscriptions.
“In the old regime, it was a roof, we gathered everything that we could,” he said. “Now, there’s a lot of discipline, and that has meant that the government has managed its own effect on inflation very well.”
Mr Jackson also noted that delayed payments to contractors, while controversial, had eased liquidity pressures in the economy. “If contractors and vendors were to bring their bills from years ago, and the Government had paid all of them this year, it would have been disastrous,” he said.
Ghana’s headline inflation eased further to 11.5% in August 2025, down from 12.1% in July, according to new data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The figure, which is the lowest recorded in almost four years, marks the eighth consecutive month of decline and falls below government’s end-of-year target of 11.9%, signaling firmer price stability.
Month-on-month, overall prices contracted by 1.3%, providing households some relief from prolonged cost-of-living pressures.
Presenting the data, Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, disclosed that food inflation slowed to 14.8% in August from 15.1% in July, with food prices dropping by 2.5% within the month. Non-food inflation also moderated to 8.7% from 9.5%, with prices edging down by 0.1%.
Inflation for goods declined to 13.9% from 14.2% in July, with overall prices of goods falling by 1.6%. Imported inflation eased faster than local inflation, supported by a stronger Cedi and lower global cost pressures.
