Although many international organizations and development partners have projected favourable and optimistic economic recovery for Ghana, Ex-Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper is cautioning that Ghanaians should be measured with such expectations.
Already institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER) have all projected that the economy will expand faster than anticipated.
The ISSER had projected that the economy is likely to expand at the rate of 4.5% by the end of the year. This 4.5% projected growth rate is higher than the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest revised projection. The IMF in its World Economic Outlook in April this year projected a 3% growth rate for Ghana. But in the latest development, the fund says the economy can potentially grow at a 4% rate.
The former Minister for Finance under the erstwhile NDC administration believes that these favourable economic recovery projections are not taking into consideration some of the possible risks.
In an interview on Accra-based JoyNews which was monitored by The High Street Journal, Seth Terkper explained that the massive rebound the economy is enjoying currently is as a result of the injection from both the IMF and the World Bank and other development partners.
With most of the support expended by this administration, Seth Terkper is concerned that the next government after the general elections may not have the luxury of resources enjoyed by this administration to sustain the economic growth as anticipated.
In addition, the growth the economy is experiencing now is a result of the Debt Restructuring Programme which has suspended all debt servicing obligations creating some fiscal space for the current government. With the maturing of the suspended bonds, the next government, Mr. Terkper believes will be pressed for resources hence calling for measured expectations.
“I will just sound a note of caution. Yes, we will definitely see some recovery because if you have been that low with all the injections that we are seeing, it is to be expected. And with the global recovery, it is expected there will definitely be some progress,” Seth Terkper remarked.
He continued that, “but the very fact that the support from both the IMF and other partners, particularly the World Bank and African Development Bank and development partners were frontloaded also means that we are going to get less to support the austerity.”
“By the time the next government will take over, about 60% of the support will have been disbursed within a period when in actual fact the programme is extended into 2026,” he further maintained.
Mr. Terkper who is convinced that the NDC will win the elections noted that the future government will have no other options than to resort to home-grown policies and structural reforms to sustain the economy.
“The future NDC government is not going to expect that much resources being pushed into the economy and therefore the focus is to go towards a home-grown policy as we have had in the past with deep structural reforms,” he noted.
