WILL PRESIDENT MAHAMA’S 24H+ ECONOMY SUCCEED? – ARTICLE 7 (FUND24))

 

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

FUND24 serves as the financial core of Ghana’s 24H+ Economy Programme, intended to mobilise and coordinate national and external financing for all associated sub-programmes. Its overarching goal is to create a transparent, diversified, and sustainable development-finance system that reduces dependence on short-term borrowing and aligns fiscal resources with long-term national priorities.

At the centre of FUND24 lies the proposed National Development Financing Mechanism (NDFM) — a framework designed to unify institutions such as the Development Bank Ghana (DBG), the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), and the Ghana EXIM Bank under one coordinated financing strategy. Yet, as of late 2025, the NDFM remains largely conceptual: institutional fragmentation, weak fiscal space, and limited regulatory alignment delay its full operationalisation.

The government’s revenue-mobilisation intentions—anchored in the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy (MTRS 2024–2027) and the Sustainable Financing Framework (2021)—focus on five pillars: tax reform and digitalisation, natural-resource revenue stabilisation, public-asset optimisation, green-bond issuance, and diaspora-investment mobilisation. While ambitious, these measures face persistent structural constraints, notably a narrow tax base, enforcement weaknesses, and exposure to commodity-price volatility.

FUND24’s success will depend on the effective integration of existing financial institutions, transparent fund allocation, and consistent political commitment. Current trends suggest that full operational functionality may not be achieved before 2027, meaning the broader 24H+ Programme will remain financially fragmented in the near term. The experience of the Ghana–China Business Summit (June 2025)—where several MoUs are still awaiting implementation—illustrates how long it typically takes for policy agreements to mature into tangible investment.

A robust FUND24 will require a legal and institutional consolidation process, creation of a central development-finance account, and strong digital oversight through real-time monitoring systems. If these reforms are successfully enacted between 2026 and 2028, FUND24 could evolve into Ghana’s first integrated national financing mechanism. If not, the 24H+ Economy risks remaining a conceptual framework without sufficient fiscal traction.

FUND24 — Financing the 24H+ Economy

1. Core Purpose

FUND24 is conceived as the financial pillar of Ghana’s 24H+ Economy Programme — the sub-programme responsible for mobilising, coordinating, and sustaining financial resources across all 24H+ initiatives. It aims to create a stable, transparent, and diversified financial foundation for Ghana’s transition toward a productive, export-driven, and continuously operating economy.

1. Historical and Policy Background

Ghana’s development finance landscape has long been fragmented, marked by dependence on external borrowing, commodity export revenues, and donor inflows.
Institutions such as the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), the Ghana EXIM Bank, and the Development Bank Ghana (DBG) were established to expand access to long-term capital, but have largely operated in isolation, with overlapping mandates and uncoordinated funding pipelines.

FUND24 intends to reverse this pattern by establishing a National Development Financing Mechanism (NDFM) — a unified structure to align financial flows, harmonise institutional mandates, and coordinate both public and private investment in line with the 24H+ strategy.
This effort fits within Ghana’s IMF-supported fiscal reform agenda and the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy (MTRS 2024–2027), both of which emphasise domestic resource mobilisation, fiscal discipline, and sustainable debt management.

1. Strategic Objectives

• Build a diversified, sustainable financing structure combining domestic, concessional, and private capital sources.
• Reduce reliance on short-term borrowing and strengthen access to affordable long-term finance.
• Institutionalise fiscal transparency and accountability through digital monitoring systems.
• Attract private, diaspora, and international investment into infrastructure, industry, and innovation.
• Promote financial inclusion and SME access to credit via risk-sharing and guarantee mechanisms.
• Initial efforts under the IMF programme to improve revenue predictability and transparency.

But in practice, no unified operational allocation system exists yet. Financing decisions remain sectoral and project-based, without central coordination under FUND24.

 

1. The National Development Financing Mechanism (NDFM): Policy vs. Reality

The NDFM is meant to act as the central coordination hub of Ghana’s development finance ecosystem — linking the Ministry of Finance, GIIF, DBG, EXIM Bank, and other agencies.
As of late 2025, however, it remains conceptually defined but not yet institutionally realised.

Key institutional realities:

1. Development Bank Ghana (DBG) – Disbursed over GH₵600 million to SMEs and agriculture in 2024, but governance issues (board dissolution in 2025) disrupted confidence.
2. GIIF – Secured US$75 million from the AfDB to expand infrastructure financing; effective but limited in scale.
3. Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) – Designed with UNDP to align financing flows with SDGs; analytical in scope, not yet operational.
4. PPP Programme – Estimated US$37 billion infrastructure gap; progress constrained by investor risk perceptions and slow project structuring.

Assessment:
The NDFM exists in partial form through these institutions, but FUND24’s envisioned unified mechanism has yet to emerge. Institutional integration remains the largest single challenge.

1. Fund Mobilisation and Allocation Framework

The Fund Mobilisation and Allocation Framework under FUND24 seeks to consolidate revenues from the national budget, natural resource proceeds, development banks, and private investors into a single structured pool for strategic allocation.

So far, Ghana has established:

• The INFF and MTRS 2024–2027 as conceptual bases.
• The Sustainable Financing Framework (2021) and Green Finance Taxonomy (2024) for ESG and environmental alignment.
• Initial efforts under the IMF programme to improve revenue predictability and transparency.

But in practice, no unified operational allocation system exists yet. Financing decisions remain sectoral and project-based, without central coordination under FUND24.

 

5A. Revenue Mobilisation Intentions and Analysis

The effectiveness of FUND24 depends fundamentally on Ghana’s ability to generate predictable, sustainable, and diversified domestic revenues to feed into its financing mechanisms.
The government’s revenue mobilisation intentions are embedded in the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy (MTRS 2024–2027), the Sustainable Financing Framework (2021), and the emerging Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF).

Key Revenue Mobilisation Pillars

1. Domestic Tax Reforms

• Expansion of the VAT and e-VAT systemto improve compliance and close loopholes.
• Broadening of the tax base by integrating informal sector actors through digital ID and mobile-money records.
• Enhanced analytics within the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to curb leakages.

1. Natural Resource Revenues and Royalties

• Improved transparency in gold, oil, and lithiumroyalties through digital tracking.
• A proposed stabilisation bufferwithin FUND24 to shield public investments from commodity price shocks.
• Possible earmarking of part of the gold-for-reserves proceedsfor long-term infrastructure funding.

1. Public Asset Optimisation

• Conversion of dormant state assets into revenue streams via public–private leasing and joint ventures.
• Monetisation of government-owned real estate and digital assets under GIIF.

1. Green and Thematic Financing Instruments

• Issuance of Green, Social, and Sustainability Bonds (GSSBs)under the Sustainable Financing Framework.
• Use of climate finance and carbon creditsto support renewable energy and agriculture projects within GROW24 and BUILD24.

1. Diaspora and Domestic Savings Mobilisation

• Launch of Diaspora Bondsto attract long-term investment from Ghanaians abroad.
• Incentivising pension and insurance funds to channel savings into development projects.

Analytical Assessment

Ghana’s revenue mobilisation agenda is ambitious but uneven in implementation potential.
Structural weaknesses — such as a narrow tax base, limited compliance, and fiscal deficits — constrain the achievable pace. Digitalisation could raise non-oil domestic revenues by 2–3% of GDP by 2027 if consistently enforced, yet GRA capacity and legal enforcement remain weak.

Reliance on natural resource proceeds introduces volatility. Without automatic stabilisation rules and disciplined fund management, windfall revenues could again be lost to short-term fiscal consumption.
Hence, success will depend on institutional coordination, transparent rules, and the depoliticisation of revenue flows.
The government’s ability to demonstrate visible returns on new taxes and bonds will be decisive in building public and investor confidence.

6. Implementation Strategy

• Lead institutions: Ministry of Finance, Bank of Ghana, GIIF, DBG, EXIM Bank.
• Oversight: Proposed 24H+ Financial Steering Committee to approve projects and monitor resource flows.
• Phases:

• Phase I (2025–2026):Institutional consolidation, fiscal mapping, donor coordination.
• Phase II (2027–2028):Expansion through PPPs, diaspora bonds, and blended finance.
• Phase III (2029–2030):Full national integration of financing flows under FUND24.

 

7. Expected Outcomes

• Predictable, transparent, and sustainable financing for all 24H+ sub-programmes.
• Enhanced fiscal discipline and public accountability.
• Greater liquidity for productive sectors and infrastructure.
• Improved investor and donor confidence in Ghana’s development finance ecosystem.

8. Persistent Challenges

• Tight fiscal space and debt-service pressures.
• Overlapping mandates among financial institutions.
• Weak digital integration and information-sharing.
• Inconsistent accountability mechanisms.
• Bureaucratic inertia and political transitions affecting continuity.

9. Integration within the 24H+ Framework

FUND24 is the connective tissue of the 24H+ Programme.
Without it, the other sub-programmes — BUILD24, MAKE24, GROW24, CONNECT24, ASPIRE24, and GO24 — remain financially isolated.
A functioning FUND24 is therefore a precondition for an integrated, scalable, and measurable 24H+ Economy.

10. Implementation Outlook (2025–2030)

Given current fiscal and institutional conditions, the operational realisation of FUND24’s core frameworks — the NDFM and the Fund Mobilisation & Allocation Framework — will likely take 1–2 years.

• Institutional coordination among MoF, GIIF, DBG, EXIM Bank, and NDPC will require at least 12–18 months.
• Fiscal constraints under the IMF programme restrict expansion until 2026.
• Legal and digital systems for FUND24 are still being drafted.
• Political transitions could delay further into 2027.

Comparative example – Ghana–China Business Summit (June 2025):
That summit produced multiple MoUs on industrial parks, energy, and agriculture. Yet as of late 2025, no major investment has materialised beyond feasibility studies — showing that in Ghana’s institutional setting, even high-level MoUs often need 18–24 months before they translate into real projects.
FUND24 faces the same structural test: transforming frameworks into operational investments requires time, coherence, and legal authority.

Analytical summary: 

The groundwork for FUN D24 is being laid, but its financial machinery remains under construction. Until FUND24 becomes operati  onal — realistically not before 2027 — the 24H+ Programme will remain fragmented and under-financed. Its success will test Ghana’s capacity to turn fiscal ambition into institutional delivery.

11. Reform and Poli cy Recommendations (2026–2028)

To convert FUND24 from a  policy design into a functioning national financing mechanism, Ghana must implement targeted reforms across six key areas:

1. Legal and Institutiona l Consolidation

1. Enact a FUND24 Act or Executive Instrument to coordinate all development-finance entities.
2. Clarify roles within the   NDFM to avoid duplication.
3. Empower the NDPC to  enforce financial alignment with national priorities.

1. Fiscal and Financial Int egration

1. Create a Consolidated  Development Finance Account (CDFA) in the Ministry of Finance.
2. Link FUND24 to the MTRS for stable inflows.
3. Introduce a unified financial-tracking system for transparency.

1. Domestic Resource Mobilisation and Private Capital Attraction

1. Operationalise blended-finance instruments such as PPP co-financing and credit guarantees.
2. Issue Diaspora and Green Bonds tied to sustainability frameworks.
3. Engage pension and insurance funds to unlock long-term domestic capital.

1. Digital Oversight and Transparency

1. Build a FUND24 Digital Monitoring Dashboard integrated with GIFMIS.
2. Enable real-time disbursement and performance tracking.
3. Publish annual FUND24 reports to ensure accountability.

1. Capacity Building and Institutional Discipline

1. Apply performance-based budgeting to all 24H+ projects.
2. Strengthen analytical and risk-management capacity in financial agencies.
3. Enforce merit-based leadership across institutions.

1. Political and Policy Stability

1. Anchor FUND24 as a non-partisan mechanism with cross-party oversight.
2. Ensure continuity across electoral cycles via parliamentary monitoring.
3. Institutionalise public–private dialogue forums for stakeholder stability.

Analytical Conclusion

FUND24’s long-term success will depend not on new institutions but on integrating and disciplining existing ones.
The years 2026–2028 will be decisive. If Ghana achieves legal consolidation, fiscal integration, and transparent oversight, FUND24 can evolve from a conceptual framework into a powerful national financing engine.
If reforms lag — as illustrated by the slow conversion of the Ghana–China MoUs into actual investment — the 24H+ Economy will remain financially fragmented and dependent on short-term improvisation.

(This article was written with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence – AI.)