The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, says after years of economic turbulence marked by record inflation, a falling cedi, and debt distress, Ghana’s economy has finally found its footing.
The Governor says the country’s economy has turned the corner and significant successes have been chalked.
Speaking at the ongoing World Bank/IMF Meeting in the United States, Dr. Asiama painted a picture of an economy that was hanging by a thread. He explained that in 2022, the country was reeling from a domestic debt crisis, expansionary fiscal policies, and exclusion from international financial markets after multiple credit rating downgrades.
He added that liquidity was high, inflation soared, and the cedi’s sharp depreciation sent prices through the roof. Ghanaians were reeling under a dire economic situation, and businesses were suffering from unfavorable conditions.
The governor added that there were even discussions of cancelling the IMF bailout program the government inherited, since there were doubts about the possibility of meeting the program targets.
“We came to meet a challenged economy. Challenged economy in the sense that, remember, we had the domestic debt issue in 2022. Fiscal policy was highly expansionary. It led to our exiting the international financial markets. There was a resort to domestic financing. You remember all the sovereign downgrades that we had to suffer,” the governor recounted.
He continued, “We came into office with lots of liquidity, high inflation, exchange rate that was depreciating widely. And I remember when we came in, there was talk about whether we should cancel the programme altogether. There were doubts as to whether we would be able to carry on with the programme and end it.”
But eight months on, the very happy governor announced at the gathering that the story has changed.
The story now, he said, is dropping inflation. The rate, which stood at nearly 24 percent when the new team took office, has dropped to 9.4 percent. Foreign exchange reserves are improving, growth is rebounding, and the country is outperforming its targets under the IMF-supported programme.
The governor credited the turnaround to a combination of tight monetary policy, improved fiscal discipline, and coordinated reforms across key sectors.
“I’m happy to say that eight months down the road, we have turned a corner. Ghana is back. Inflation, we met it at nearly 24%. Currently, it’s down to 9.4%. We have seen a strong rebound in growth. We are running ahead of programme targets for the year on almost everything. You name it, inflation, reserves build up, economic growth. We are running ahead,” he remarked.
He further stated that, “We are happy to announce that we will be able to exit the fund programme come next year. And so far, so good. The first eight months have been revealing. We think that we have done a good job. We are getting all the upgrades from our rating agencies, which shows clearly that we are on the right path.”
For the governor, Ghanaians and businesses who have felt the pinch of high prices and business uncertainty are now faced with a glimmer of hope.
However, analysts say sustaining this progress will require consistency, continued fiscal restraint, and support for the real sectors that create jobs.
