Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minister of Finance, has rejected the New Patriotic Party’s assertion that they left behind a thriving economy, citing Ghana’s 5.7 percent economic growth in 2024.
He argued that the growth was predominantly fueled by illegal small-scale mining, commonly referred to as galamsey in Ghana.
While presenting the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana to Parliament on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, Dr. Ato Baah Forson highlighted key sectors driving growth, with a particular focus on mining and quarrying.
Supporting his statement with provisional 2024 GDP data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on March 10, 2025, Dr. Ato Forson pointed out that the mining and quarrying sector—encompassing both legal and illegal gold mining—experienced an impressive 19.1% growth rate. This surge was a significant contributor to the overall economic expansion.
He said, “Mr. Speaker, provisional 2024 GDP statistics published by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on 10th March 2025 show that overall real GDP grew by 5.7% in 2024, compared to the growth rate of 3.1% recorded over the same period in 2023. The key driver of this growth was largely mining and quarrying, mainly gold, including (illegal mining) galamsey, which recorded a growth of 19.1%. But galamsey growth cannot be sustainable,”
