-Indicating Signs of Economic Recovery
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised Ghana’s 2024 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth from 3.1% to 4%, showing signs of acceleration in economic recovery.
The Fund explained that the revision reflects current data on the Ghanaian economy, as the projected 3.1% in its October World Economic Outlook was based on data before its Mission’s review earlier this month.
This development comes from the positive impact of the country’s debt restructuring programme and macroeconomic recovery, stemming from the implementation of reforms under the ongoing US$3 billion IMF programme.
The Director of IMF’s African Department, Mr Abebe Aemro Selassie, said this at the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Economic Outlook on the margins of the 2024 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group (WBG).
He said the country’s GPD has surged from 2.8% in the first half of 2023 to 5.9% in the same period in 2024, which Mr Selassie said was achieved through difficult reform implementation.
He noted that Ghana has gone through a wrenching period of macroeconomic instability, and decided to move forward with a comprehensive set of reforms. These reforms are beginning to bear fruit, and that’s the growth numbers we are seeing.
The IMF African Department Director asked the government to ensure that the gains made were consolidated, especially in the face of elections, which over time, had been characterized by expenditure spillages.
Going forward, he asked the government to continue to strike a healthy balance between meeting all the development spending needs of Ghanaians and maintaining debt sustainability.
“That requires maintaining modest levels of fiscal deficits. Going through an election cycle now, avoiding the pitfalls, which Ghana has faced in election cycles in the past. These will all be critical to making sure that Ghana can have a healthy macroeconomic situation,” Mr Selassie said.
On the continent’s growth, he said the Fund expected GDP to remain modest at 3.6% recorded for 2023, particularly in per capita terms.
He, however, noted that with some signs of acceleration beginning to be seen on the continent, it was projected that Africa’s growth would reach around 4.2% in 2025.
He urged African governments to continue to sustain improvements in macroeconomic balances and make room to spend on development and social protection while ensuring that reforms were socially and politically acceptable.
