The Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has highlighted the
positive reception of the country’s economic resilience programme from
global financial leaders.
According to the minister, bilateral
engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director
Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President Ajay Banga elicited
favourable remarks about Ghana’s rebounding economy.
The Finance
Minister indicated that the positive outlook and assurances garnered
during these meetings have bolstered the confidence of Ghana’s external
partners.
The IMF currently awaits disbursing of US$360million
following the successful completion of the second review of the
programme, once the government reaches an agreement with its official
creditors.
The upbeat assessments from key multilateral
institutions signal growing optimism about the country’s economic
trajectory amid its reform efforts to restore macroeconomic stability
and fiscal sustainability.
Speaking to the Ghanaian media in
Washington DC, the minister noted that the measures adopted by
government to restore macroeconomic stability and build resilience
through the implementation of the PC-PEG under the Extended Credit
Facility (ECF) in May 2023 were already yielding the desired results.
“These
measures have delivered very favourable macroeconomic outcomes in just
one year, these include: more than anticipated growth performance in GDP
growth, with GDP ending 2023 at 2.9 percent compared to the original
target of 1.5 percent and the revised target of 2.3 percent,’’ he said.
He
noted that inflation was declining by 30.9 percentage points to 23.2
percent at the end of December 2023 after peaking at 54.1 percent in
December 2022, and further added that good progress have been seen in
inflation in 2024.
“We have seen good progress in inflation in
2024. Also, it maintained its rate of 23.2 percent in February 2024 but
increased slightly to 25.8 percent in March 2024 due mainly to the base
effect,” Dr. Adam said.
Other reliving outcomes of the programme,
the minister acknowledged, included the relative stability of the cedi
against the major trading currencies, improvement in the public debt
trajectory as the debt to GDP ratio reduced to 71.4 percent of GDP at
the end of 2023 from 73.5 percent of GDP at the end of 2022, and
improvement in fiscal balances indicating a strong drive toward fiscal
consolidation.
“The primary balance (on commitment basis), which
is the fiscal anchor under the programme, improved from a deficit of 4.3
percent of GDP at the end of 2022 to a deficit of 0.3 percent of GDP at
the end of 2023. The 2023 outturn was lower than the target deficit of
0.5 percent of GDP,” the minister said.
These impactful measures,
as noted by the minister, were prominently featured in discussions with
the IMF, World Bank Group and other bilateral meetings, garnering
commendations from partners.
The Ghana delegation to Washington
DC to attend the 2024 IMG/World Bank Spring Meetings under the theme
‘Vision to Impact’ included the Governor of the central bank, Dr. Ernest
Addison.
The Minister of Finance, who is the chair of the
Vulnerable 20 Group of Finance Ministers, hinted of the group’s
discussion targeted at intensifying national and regional measures
through climate prosperity plans.
The plans, according to the
minister, were aimed at transforming the development trajectory of
vulnerable economies into one that was capable of thriving despite
challenges.
“The 2024 Spring 2024 Spring Meetings concluded with a
strong reaffirmation of the V20’s commitment to intensify global
engagement and collaboration. There was a strong push for the
operationalisation of the Climate Vulnerable Forum’s (CVF) objectives
through global initiatives like the Accra-Marrakech Agenda and the
Bridgetown Initiative,” he underscored.
Ghana’s leadership of the V20 and the Climate Vulnerable Forum ends in May when Barbados takes over as Chair.
Dr.
Adam disclosed that an initial meeting had been held with Prime
Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, to ensure seamless transition of
leadership with both sides looking at a day in June 2024 for the
official handover ceremony.
Source: B&FT
