Deputy Finance Minister-Designate Calls for Economic Self-Reliance as USAID Withholds Funding

Accra, Ghana - 25 Feb, 2025 - Ghana's Deputy Minister for Finance-designate, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, is calling for the country to plan for a future without aid, following the USAID's decision to withhold funding.

This move has prompted President John Mahama to direct the Finance Minister to seek alternative funding sources to bridge the estimated $156 million financial gap.

During his vetting on Monday, February 24, 2025, Ampem noted that Ghana has relied heavily on donor support, but aid inflows have consistently declined over the years. He cited examples such as DANIDA's reduced support and the UK's aid budget reduction from 0.75% to 0.5% of GNP.

To achieve economic self-reliance, Ampem emphasized the need to strengthen domestic revenue mobilization, expand the tax base, and improve efficiency in public spending.

According to him, this requires policymakers to implement long-term solutions ensuring sustainable growth and reducing vulnerability to external funding decisions.

“This happened at a time that fortunately we are in the process of preparing the 2025 budget so I am sure the Minister will be able to make provisions to bridge the gap. This should bring us to the larger conversation about aid. We know that aid to our country has been dwindling over the years.

“DANIDA is no longer supporting programs in Ghana as they used to. United Kingdom for instance has reduced their aid budget from I think from 0.75% of GNP to 0.5%.

“This should tell us that it will get to a time when aids to our country will dwindle to zero. The only difference between DANIDA and other donor funding and that of the USAID is that the announcement of the USAID withdrawal came suddenly.

“But we have seen the trend that aid is dwindling and so it is important that we begin to plan our lives without aid and see what we can do for ourselves,” he added.

Source: Lead News Online