ACCRA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank has urged the Ghanaian government to institute urgent reforms in the energy and cocoa sectors to anchor macro-financial sustainability.

World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia Robert Taliercio made the remarks Wednesday during the launch of World Bank 2025 policy notes, noting that sustaining policy reforms remains challenging to the West African country.

He said that further delays in the long-awaited reforms of the energy sector are risking the country's macro-financial sustainability.

"It cost the government approximately 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2024 on transfers to cover the financial shortfalls in the energy sector, and these are projected to rise to about 2 billion dollars by 2026," Taliercio said. "This is about 2 percent of GDP, which could otherwise be used for priority spending in health, education, or improving Ghana's road network."

Every month of delay becomes extremely costly for the nation, he said, adding that the World Bank is deeply concerned about insufficient progress on these critical reforms.

"Similarly, reforms in the cocoa sector are urgent to improve the sector's resilience and financial sustainability," Taliercio said.

"COCOBOD's current operational framework creates significant inefficiencies and market distortions that result in debt accumulation and increased fiscal liabilities," he said, using the acronym of Ghana Cocoa Board.

On the other hand, Taliercio said, government programs such as the 24-Hour Economy and the Big Push, which aim to revolutionize Ghana's infrastructure, offer an opportunity to catalyze ambitious reforms to promote broad-based and resilient growth, job creation, and poverty reduction, if implemented well. ■