Finance Minister: Bank of Ghana seeks GH₵53bn bailout to address financial challenge

The Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has revealed that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is seeking a GH₵53 billion bailout to address its financial difficulties caused by negative equity.

During the Presentation of the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy in Parliament on Tuesday, March 11, Dr. Ato Forson highlighted the severe financial strain facing the central bank and stressed the need for substantial support to restore its stability.

He said, “The BoG is also seeking an amount of GH₵53 billion as a bailout to be able to address their negative equity challenge they face.”

The finance minister revealed that the government’s total arrears have increased to GH₵67.5 billion as of December 2024, which represents 5.2% of Ghana’s GDP.

Dr. Ato Forson lamented that the road sector alone accounted for GH₵21 billion of the arrears.

He stated that, “As of December 2024, the total central government arrears amounted to GH₵67.5 billion, or 5.2% of GDP, with the road sector contributing GH₵21 billion.”

He noted since that the government has been inundated with requests for payments from vendors and contractors since taking office in January 2025.

According to him, on January 28, 2025, the Ministry of Finance asked for a revised list of unpaid claims in order to determine the overall amount of arrears across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.

He stated: “Following this, the MoF conducted a special hearing with MDAs to confirm the arrears. The response indicated that GH₵67.5 billion is owed to government contractors and suppliers.”