2025 Ghana Budget Highlights

Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, presented the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. The budget focuses on economic recovery, job creation, and sustainable development, with key areas including inflation control, debt management, infrastructure development, and social intervention programs.

Key Highlights from the 2025 Budget Statement.
1. Abolition of Controversial Taxes: The government has announced the abolition of six contentious taxes, including the Betting Tax, E-Levy, Emission Levy, VAT on Motor Vehicle Insurance Policies, Tax on Unprocessed Gold from Small-Scale Miners, and the COVID-19 Levy.
2. Economic Stability and Fiscal Targets: Dr. Forson emphasized that removing these taxes is a crucial step towards achieving Ghana’s fiscal targets for 2025, aiming to ease the financial burden on households, increase disposable income, and support business growth.
3. Revenue Measures: To compensate for the lost revenue, the government will reduce the tax refund ceiling from 6% to 4% of total revenue, projected to save GH¢3.8 billion in 2025.
4. Focus on Inflation and Debt Management: The budget includes strategies to control inflation and manage the country’s debt, which are critical for economic stability and growth.
5. Infrastructure and Social Programs: The government plans to allocate funds towards infrastructure development, particularly roads, to improve food security and better the lives of Ghanaians.
6. Support for the Private Sector: There is a focus on de-risking the macroeconomy to allow the private sector to grow, with the expectation that this will attract more investment and stimulate economic activity.

Now there was a total of 19 key allocations were outlined in the budget. Theses allocations include;
1. GH¢13.85 billion: Allocation for the Big Push Programme.
2. GH¢499.8 million: Allocation for the No-Academic-Fee policy for first-year students in public tertiary institutions.
3. GH¢292.4 million: Allocation for the distribution of free sanitary pads to female students in primary and secondary schools.
4. GH¢242.5 million: Allocation to support victims of the Akosombo dam spillage.
5. GH¢200 million: Allocation to support victims of the tidal wave disaster in the Ketu South constituency.
6. GH¢3.5 billion: Allocation for the free secondary education program.
7. GH¢564.6 million: Allocation for comprehensive provision of free curricula-based textbooks.
8. GH¢1.788 billion: Allocation for the School Feeding Programme.
9. GH¢145.5 million: Allocation for the Capitation Grant.
10. GH¢203 million: Allocation for the payment of teacher trainee allowances.
11. GH¢480 million: Allocation for the payment of nursing trainee allowances.
12. GH¢9.93 billion: Allocation for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
13. GH¢2.81 billion: Allocation for the Ghana Road Fund.
14. GH¢7.51 billion: Allocation for the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).
15. GH¢1.5 billion: Allocation for Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA).
16. GH¢51.3 million: Allocation as seed fund for the establishment of the Women’s Development Bank.
17. GH¢300 million: Allocation for the National Apprenticeship Programme.
18. GH¢100 million: Allocation for the ‘Adwumawura’ Programme.
19. GH¢100 million: Allocation for the National Coders Programme

These allocations are meant to bring economic recovery and development, tackling urgent national challenges while setting the stage for sustainable growth.