As of the third quarter of 2025, Ghana had met the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)’s convergence criteria for the adoption of a single currency for the subregion.

Though not trumpeted, the achievement is one of the many stellar highlights of the Mahama government’s sterling performance, in less than a year of taking office in January 2025.

By the third quarter of this year, the government had brought down inflation from a crippling 23% inherited from the Akufo-Addo government, to the single digit value of 8%.

This satisfies the target for inflation within the ECOWAS convergence criteria which is an average annual inflation rate of less than 10%.

In respect of budget deficit, the ECOWAS convergence criteria target is that the ratio should be less or equal to 3%, with Gross External Reserves of 3 months. The Mahama government, as of the third quarter of 2025, had beaten the ECOWAS criteria benchmark with a projected fiscal deficit of 2.8% of GDP, (below ECOWAS’ 3 percent benchmark) and Gross external reserves that cover 4.8 months of imports (more than ECOWAQS’ 3 months).

As part of the ECOWAS convergence criteria, Central Bank financing of the budget should not be more than 10% of previous year’s revenue.

The Mahama government has done better than this benchmark also, maintaining central bank financing at zero.

Then, in respect of the convergence criteria benchmark that public debt does not exceed 70% of GDP, the Mahama government beat this by a long gap in 2025, reducing the debt to GDP ratio to 43.8% by June.

And this was before projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Ghana’s debt to GDP ratio would be approximately 59.1% to 60% by the end of 2025.

Ghana’s current macroeconomic position means that it is the only country among the 16 member states which has satisfied virtually all the primary criteria for the adoption of the Eco.

The remarkable thing is that, this is the pole opposite of the state of affairs as at January 2025, when all macroeconomic indicators were in riot, with credit rating agencies across the world relegating Ghana’s creditworthiness to junk status.

All the major credit rating agencies – S&P Global Ratings, Fitch Ratings, and Moody’s Investors Service have recently upgraded Ghana’s creditworthiness, citing the country’s economic recovery and fiscal discipline following its debt restructuring.

In June, Fitch rated Ghana B- with a stable outlook; then, in November 2025, S&P Global rated Ghana B- with a stable outlook. Before S&P’s rating, Moody’s Investor services had upgraded Ghana’s status to Caa1 with a stable outlook.

Meanwhile, the local currency, the cedi, continues to buoy in value against major trading currencies, especially the dollar.

From exchanging at almost Ghc17 to a dollar in December 2024, the cedi is now exchanging for Ghc10.8 to a dollar.