Claim: The NDC administration inherited three months of import cover
Source: Dr Cassiel Ato Forson (Finance Minister)
Verdict: False
Researched by Gifty Danso
Hours after the Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, delivered the 2026 budget and economic policy of the John Mahama administration on November 13, 2025, he joined Joy News’ PM Express for a breakdown of the budget.
While speaking about the need to build economic buffers, the minister said, “Today, the Central Bank is almost at five months of import cover. We inherited about three months of import cover. It has accelerated. He had inherited $6.8 billion in Gross International Reserves. Today he is doing about $12billion and counting, and this is only 10 months.” (watch from 29:31 to 29:47 of the discussion).
The 2026 budget is the second economic policy document presented by Ato Forson since the John Dramani Mahama-led government took office on January 7, 2025.
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This fact-check will verify the following claims;
- The Mahama administration inherited three months of import cover
- The Gross International Reserves stood at $6.8 billion when they took office and
- The Gross International Reserves stand at $12 billion today.
Fact-check
The Gross International Reserves (GIF) refers to the total foreign currency assets, monetary gold, and other reserve assets held by a country’s Central Bank.
In January 2025, when the Bank of Ghana released its 2024 annual report, the Bank noted that the Gross International Reserves had reached $8.98 billion, equivalent to 4 months of import cover (find here).
In a subsequent report by the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee in January 2025, it also noted that Gross International Reserves “increased to a stock position of US$8.98 billion at the end of December 2024, equivalent to 4.0 months of imports cover.”
In March 2025, when the Minister of Finance read the 2025 budget, he quoted statistics from the BoG’s MPC report which indicated that the Gross International Reserves at the end of 2024 were $8.89 billion, equivalent to 4 months of import cover (see page 27 of the budget speech).
This means that the Mahama administration inherited Gross International Reserves of $8.89 billion, and not $6.8 billion. They also inherited an import cover of 4 months and not 3 months as the minister claimed.
Is the current Gross International Reserves $12 billion?
Checks from the most recent report from the BoG’s Monetary Policy Committee indicate that Ghana’s reserves stood at $10.73 billion as of August 2025 (find here).
However, we found news reports on October 28, 2025, where the Central Bank Governor, Johnson Asiama, is quoted to have said that Ghana now has Gross International Reserves of $12 billion (here, here, and here).
The outcome of the next MPC meeting, slated for November 24 – 26, 2025; could affect the current reserves figure, which is put at $12 billion, according to public statements by the central bank chief.
Verdict
The Finance Minister’s claim on import cover and gross international reserves inherited by the Mahama administration is false!
