Accra, 26th March 2024 - The Ministry of Finance today held its inaugural monthly economic briefing under the leadership of the Minister for Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam.
The briefing aimed at providing stakeholders with a comprehensive update on the country's economic performance, key priorities for 2024, and ongoing initiatives to ensure macroeconomic stability and inclusive growth.
In his opening remarks, the Minister emphasized the importance of transparency, accountability, and stakeholder engagement in economic management.
He highlighted the significance of the monthly briefings as part of measures to deepen transparency and build consensus in the journey to restore and sustain macroeconomic stability.
Dr Amin Adam outlined key priorities for 2024, including staying the course on the implementation of the IMF-Supported Post Covid-19 for Economic Growth (PC-PEG), fast-tracking the completion of the External Debt Restructuring Programme, optimizing domestic revenue mobilization, and implementing government's growth strategy with a focus on SME development.
He highlighted positive developments in the domestic economy, noting resilient GDP growth, declining inflation, stabilized exchange rates, improved gross international reserves, and fiscal consolidation.
The Minister attributed these achievements to the cooperation and sacrifice of all Ghanaians.
Providing detailed insights into the real sector performance, the Minister revealed that the GDP for 2023 grew by 2.9%, exceeding initial projections. He emphasized the significant contributions of the services and agriculture sectors to economic expansion, while also acknowledging challenges in the industry sector.
On price developments, the Minister noted a significant easing of price pressures, attributing it to fiscal consolidation and monetary policy adjustments.
He drew attention to the downward trend in inflation rates, both year-on-year and month-on-month, underscoring the government's efforts to stabilize prices.
On exchange rate developments, the Minister acknowledged recent pressures on the cedi but highlighted its overall stability since early 2023. He outlined measures taken to mitigate these pressures and expressed confidence in the central bank's intervention to sustain currency stability.
Regarding the external sector, the Minister reported progress with improvements in the current account balance, trade balance, and gross international reserves. He emphasized the government's commitment to restoring long-term debt sustainability through comprehensive debt restructuring efforts.
Providing an update on the implementation of the IMF-supported programme, the Minister announced the upcoming second review scheduled for April 2024. He expressed confidence in meeting programme objectives and highlighted progress towards meeting targets.
Concluding his remarks, the Minister reiterated Ghana's positive medium-term macroeconomic outlook, emphasizing projections for increased GDP growth, improved fiscal balances, and declining inflation rates. He underscored the government's commitment to implementing ambitious structural reforms to enhance resilience and promote inclusive growth.
The briefing concluded with a commitment to ongoing engagement with stakeholders through subsequent briefings to provide updates on key economic developments and reforms.
The Ministry of Finance pledged to provide regular updates on economic developments and reforms to ensure transparency, accountability, and stakeholder engagement in economic management.
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