Reclaiming Ghana’s Financial Future: The Time for Domestic Solutions Is Now

On May 14, 2025, over 40 civil society leaders, researchers, and activists gathered in Accra under the leadership of ActionAid Ghana to face a growing storm—shrinking donor funding, rising public debt, and persistent financial injustice. The convening, part of the Financing for Development (F4D) dialogue, was more than a workshop; it was a call to action.

For too long, Ghana’s development ambitions have been tethered to the inconsistent goodwill of foreign donors and multilateral institutions. That model is failing us. Not because aid is inherently bad, but because it has too often been tied to rigid, top-down requirements that ignore local realities and leave civil society organizations (CSOs) scrambling to survive rather than thrive.

As highlighted by ActionAid Ghana’s Country Director, John Nkaw, the stakes are rising. Donor withdrawal is not just a fiscal challenge—it’s a justice issue. It is a wake-up call to rebuild a financial system that works for Ghanaians, not against them.

The Real Threat: Illicit Financial Flows, Not Corruption Alone

The numbers are staggering: up to 65% of illicit financial flows from Africa are commercial—driven not by petty corruption, but by multinational corporations shifting profits out of developing nations through tax avoidance schemes. Yet, international responses continue to overemphasize corruption and underplay corporate complicity. This imbalance must change.

As researcher Gyekye Tanoh and economist Anaba Bernard laid bare, Ghana’s public finance crisis is not due to overspending—it’s a result of structural extraction and an economic system designed to benefit the few at the expense of many. CSOs, often the lifeline of essential services and grassroots empowerment, are now paying the price for a global financial order tilted against them.

Beyond Survival: Reimagining Civil Society Financing

The dialogue made one thing clear: survival is not enough. CSOs must reimagine sustainability—not through austerity, but through financial sovereignty. This means domestic resource mobilization, progressive tax reform, and investment in local innovation.

Why should youth-led organizations rely on foreign donors for basic programming when Ghana can mobilize its own resources? Why must women’s groups halt critical work because of inflexible funding timelines set thousands of miles away?

It is time to rethink philanthropy—trust-based, community-driven, and grounded in local realities. We must champion the creation of a National Innovation Fund, expand Village Savings & Loans Associations (VSLAs), and support social enterprises embedded within CSOs.

The Role of Government: Accountability and Action

But the private sector and CSOs alone cannot fix this. The government must lead with accountability. This includes:

• Closing tax loopholes and addressing illicit financial flows at their root
• Designing gender-responsive budgets that reflect the needs of all citizens
• Ensuring transparency in debt acquisition and public spending
• Creating tax policies that are fair, effective, and inclusive—including the digital economy

And critically, government must include CSOs in national policy dialogues, not as beneficiaries of aid, but as partners in development.

Let Ghana Lead

We are tired of watching development dictated by foreign headlines. Let Ghana set its own agenda. Let us declare boldly: if USAID can exist, why not GhanaAid—a national fund that invests in our own change-makers, innovators, and social justice movements?

The F4D Dialogue has set the tone. The next step is implementation. It is time for ActionAid Ghana, WACSI, and all participants to take this communiqué to the heart of government and demand transformation—not in rhetoric, but in resource allocation, policy direction, and power redistribution.

This is not charity. It is our right.

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