The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that Ghana is making progress in its economic management but cautioned that the country will have to ride on a bumpy path to economic recovery.
The Assistant Director and Head of Fiscal Policy and Surveillance Division of the IMF, Ms Catherine Pattillo, said fiscal consolidation remained on track as the government strived to ambitiously trim its overall deficit target from 10.1 per cent in 2014 to 5.2 per cent in 2016.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of an IMF/World Bank annual meeting in Washington DC, Ms Pattillo said though Ghana was making a lot of economic progress in recent times, there were still some risks that it had to overcome on the path to total recovery. “We have seen Ghana make some progress recently which has resulted in its primary balance swing into surplus and projected at 1.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year, which could help in reducing the public debt ratio,” she indicated.
Acording to her, the problems remained with developments in the oil and banking sectors coupled with fiscal tightening which could make economic conditions difficult.
“In the context of the much higher public debt level, a replay of the past spending splurges in an election year would greatly heighten the risk of a full-blown economic and financial crisis and undermine Ghana’s development progress”, Ms. Pattillo said.
Ghana saw sustained GDP growth above eight per cent on its exports of gold, cocoa and oil until 2013 but has since seen a slump partly because of lower global commodity prices and a fiscal crisis that forced the country to secure an aid deal with the IMF last year.
Challenges
Ms Pattilo said the challenge the country was facing was due to commodity price slowdown and an underperfoming revenue sector and how to meet a fiscal target that required maintaining strict control of spending, especially in the run up to the Decembber general election. “Avoiding any related spending overruns as happened in the past will be critical in the coming months,” she stated.
Ms Pattilo mentioned other constraints to include, “domestic financing, which still poses a threat to the economy.”
Deficit
Analysts say the country was on target to halve its fiscal deficit this year after its US$918 million aid deal with the IMF.
The government issued a bill to eliminate Central Bank’s financing of the budget deficit in line with the requirements of the deal but on August 2, 2016, Parliament passed an amendment to the bill, allowing financing of up to five per cent.
Ghana’s public debt eased to 63 per cent of GDP in May this year from 72 per cent at the end of 2015, while consumer inflation dropped to 16.7 per cent in July from 19 per cent in January.
Rating agency
An international rating agency Moody's Investors Service has also affirmed Ghana's issuer and senior unsecured rating at B3 and changed the outlook of the country’s economy to stable from negative.
The agency cited the significant fiscal deficit reduction and implementation of institutional reforms over the past year under the umbrella of the three-year IMF programme which started in April 2015 as a major factor.
It also welcomed a reduced government external liquidity risk after the successful issuance of a US$750 million Eurobond in September. This is aimed at redeeming the maturity of the remaining US$400 million October 2017 Eurobond.
Source: Daily Graphic
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
THE IMF ARE JUST PURVEYORS OF LOANS AND DEBTS BUT THE TROUBLE IS THAT FULLS LIKE JON MAHAMA AND THE NDC WHO ARE LAZY AND NOT PREPARED TO BE CREATIVE TO CREAT WEALTH FOR GHANA WILL ALWAYS GO THE EASY WAY BY TAKING LOANS AND PRINTING MONEY TO RUN THE ECONOMY : WHAT THEY DO NOT REALISE IS THAT PRINTING MONEY IS INFLATIONATIONARY AND TAKING DEBT OR LOANS MEANS PILING DEBT FOR THE YOUTH TO PAY IN FURURE WHILST YOU ARE ENJOYING TODAY : THE WORSE SCENARIO IS THIS IMF AND WORLD JUST MASSAGING FIGURES ABOUT GHANA TO PAVE WAY TO LEN THEM MORE MONEY : +_WHAT A SHAME !!!!!!!
if NDC loses to a new govt to tomorrow, IMF will come and say that NDC people destroyed the economy. IMF are liars and the economy is shittttt. We all see it in the fuckkked up manner of the economy today. Vote for change!
I Dr. Bleak Bawumia Balawu Buluu refuse to hear any other news than the one am telling that Ghana economy is the worst shape ever.
I Dr. Bleak Bawumia Balawu Buluu refuse to hear any other news that the one am telling that Ghana economy is the worst shape ever.
Can you show some respect to women and stop this Trumpian attitude towards women because women are human beings and any person born of a woman need to show some respect !!!!!!!;have you not got a mother or a sister or relatives who are women ; Mrs Bawumia is Fulani SO WHAT !!!!!!!!; fulanis have been in Ghana since time and since your great grand relatives were born besides what is the BIG DEAL about fulani women ; are Ghanaian women different from fulani women including your own mother ; do you know whether you wife or mother or sister have washed themselves before you yourself came out with such faeces !!!!!!!!! ; besides can you deal with the topic in the arena before you start your toxic flatulence on women ; if you seek insults the be preapared for insults from the otherwside because I am not aware whether you are aware that Jon Mahama's wife was a ***barred word*** in Holland when he seperated from Jon Mahama and travelled abroad ;do you know the number of men who slept with Mrs Lordina Mahama in Holland ; at least fulani women are not protututes like Lordina Mahama ;please if you live in glass houses do not start throwing stones because whilst you are watching somebody's backside somebody too dey watch your backside ; if you want to talk about the economy lets talk about the economy and STOP YOUR LITTLE MIND SET OF TRUMPIAN ARROGANCE OF INSULTING WOMEN : WHAT HAS MRS BAWUMIA GOT TO DO WITH THE ECONOMY AS A WOMAN !!!!!!; CAN YOU ***barred word*** AND CEASE DENEGRADING WOMEN !!!!!!!!
BAWUMIA'S WIFE NEVER WASH HER LOWER PART OF HER BODY BECAUSE SHE IS FULANI
Where is Bawumia the togolese register owner? now he should reply to the IMF and tell them that Ghana's economy is in crisis. The only economist who sees things from back