Stephane Roudette, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Mission Chief for Ghana, praised the country’s strong economic performance despite the economic crisis.
Speaking at a joint press conference held on July 1, 2024, he indicated that Ghana has chalked some gains under the IMF-supported Post-COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG).
“Ghana’s performance under the PC-PEG has been commendable,” Roudette stated. “The country has surpassed expectations with a strong GDP growth of 4.7% in the first quarter of 2024, demonstrating resilience and effective implementation of fiscal policies.”
According to him, Ghana’s performance under the programme has been generally strong with all quantitative performance criteria for the second review and all indicative targets met, except one stating that Significant progress is being made on key structural reforms, including enhancing revenue mobilization and streamlining non-priority expenditures which when realized will further solidify the economy.
On his part, Finance Minister, Mohammed Amin Adam claimed that the economy was making significant recovery due to measures adopted by the government.
“Growth is proving to be more resilient and robust than initially programmed and the economy continues to show strong signs of recovery in Q1 of 2024. Overall Real GDP growth for Q1 2024 was 4.7%, the highest since Q1 of 2022.
This growth performance is better than the 3.1% growth recorded in the same period in 2023. Industry grew the most at 6.8%, followed by Agriculture at 4.1% and Services at 3.3%. The 2024 Q1 GDP growth rate for industry is the highest since Q4 of 2020,” he said.
He added that “Headline inflation declined to 23.1% in May 2024 from 25.0% in April 2024, after peaking at 54.1% in December 2022. The Cedi has also stabilized, with year-to-date depreciation against the US dollar at 18.4%, compared to 22.0% in the same period in 2023.”
The Minister said the country reached an agreement with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) to restructure $5.1 billion of Ghana’s official bilateral loans, resulting in debt service relief of $2.8 billion between 2023 and 2026.
Additionally, the government has negotiated with Eurobond holders to restructure $13.1 billion, which will lead to the cancellation of $4.7 billion in debt and provide debt service relief of $4.4 billion from 2023 to 2026.
“We are committed to sustaining our macroeconomic policy adjustment and reforms to fully restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while fostering a sustainable increase in economic growth and poverty reduction,” he concluded.
The IMF has approved the disbursement of the third tranche of $360 million.
The approval was granted after Ghana finalised a deal with its Official Creditor Committee.
This brings disbursements under the three-year bailout programme to US$1.6 billion.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
