President John Dramani Mahama has assured the nation’s cocoa farmers that the reforms announced by the government will see a total transformation of the cocoa sector.
Presenting his 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) to Parliament, President Mahama said they had to take the painful but necessary decision to revise the producer price of cocoa to achieve competitive pricing and resolve GH¢32.9 billion in the cocoa sector that the government must pay.
“Failure to do this, Mr. Speaker, this unplanned expenditure would have taken us right back to the very devastating economic problem that we have only recently begun to escape,” he stated.
“So, Mr. Speaker, while fully understanding the concerns and protests of our farmers, I can firmly assure them that the reforms announced by the government will see a total transformation of the cocoa sector.”
He reiterated that it would guarantee them a fair and transparent price that would enable them to meet the cost of producing the commodity and making decent margins.
The President said the difference between economic hardship and avoiding the same was the exercise of sound economic judgment.
“And I am determined to take decisions that ensure our collective well-being and avoid the suffering of all our citizens,” he said.
“These are difficult decisions to take, but Mr. Speaker, I had to take them.”
President Mahama said they abolished nuisance taxes that were levied on Ghanaians between 2017 and 2024; these included the E-Levy, the Betting Tax, the Emission Tax, the COVID Levy, and so forth.
He informed lawmakers that they had reformed Value Added Tax (VAT) comprehensively – firstly by abolishing the one percent COVID-19 Levy and secondly decoupling GetFunded and NHL from VAT and reducing the effective VAT rate from 21.9 per cent to 20 per cent.
Other reforms are raising the VAT threshold to GH¢750,000 to exclude petty businesses and extending zero rating on textiles up to 2028.
These fiscal reforms, the President said had effectively put GH¢6 billion back into the pockets of Ghanaians.
He said interest rates had fallen from above 30 per cent to currently between 18 and 20 per cent – freeing up credit for businesses and households.
He said that according to the Ghana Statistical Services, over one million Ghanaians have found employment between quarter 1 and quarter 3 of 2025.
He reiterated that they had escaped multidimensional poverty over the same period.
“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that our external position has strengthened significantly. By December 2025, our current account recorded a surplus of GH¢9.1 billion, representing 8.1 per cent of our GDP,” he stated.
“This is a remarkable increase from GH¢1.5 billion or 1.8 per cent of GDP in 2024. These achievements have been driven by robust gold, cocoa, and non-traditional exports. And increased remittance inflows.”
President Mahama said this improvement demonstrates that their economy was gaining strength and resilience again on the global stage.
He said they had moved decisively from planning to action on their flagship 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme.
This, he said, was officially launched in 2025 and that this transformative initiative was designed to unlock round-the-clock economic activity and deepen their value chains across key sectors.
He said it was also to boost productivity, support export growth, and create quality jobs in agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, and services.
“On 6 February 2026, this House passed the 24-Hour Economy Authority Bill and the legal mandate that was necessary for full implementation,” he said.
“Last week, at the Cabinet meeting held, I had the honour of signing this historic legislation into law. All is now set for take-off.”
The President said this was the boldest economic transformation initiative in Ghana’s recent history.
He said in this year’s budget, GH¢110 million had been allocated to begin the setting up and implementation of the 24-Hour Economy Authority.
He said these resources would enable businesses to operate beyond traditional business hours.
He said they would attract investment through strategic partnerships with the Development Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund to strengthen the foundations for sustained growth and job creation, especially for their young people.
“Mr. Speaker, a nation that does not learn from past mistakes cannot get out of the cycle of problems that impose hardships on its citizens,” President Mahama said.
“We have just begun to emerge from the most devastating economic crisis in our nation’s recent history.”
The President announced that they were bringing legislation to this House to tighten their procurement processes by banning sole-source contracts, except in exceptional circumstances.
“We will also bring legislation to this House to make it mandatory to seek Parliament’s prior approval before any government assets or property are leased out or sold. This includes lands and state enterprises.”
