The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic could affect Ghana’s growth rate from 7 percent on average to 2.5 percent if the situation persists till the end of 2020, President Akufo-Addo has stated.
The President, who made the announcement last Friday when he announced a partial lock-down in parts of Accra, Kumasi, Tema, and Kasoa, said the projection was made by the Bank of Ghana in the worst-case scenario.
Ghana has so far confirmed 151 cases, with five deaths and two recoveries.
President Akufo-Addo however assured that government will do all it can in its effort to stabilize the economy to protect the vulnerable.
“The Bank of Ghana is predicting a worst-case GDP growth rate scenario of 2.5% for 2020, should the virus continue to linger for the rest of the year,” he said, adding that, “the effects on our economy would be dire”.
He however stated that with the New Patriotic Party government has an idea about how to turn the economy around.
“We know what to do to bring back our economy back to life. What we do not know how to do is to bring people back to life”, he stressed.
“We have demonstrated over the course of the last three years, where we inherited an economy that was growing at 3.4%, and transformed it into one which has grown by an average of 7% over the last three (3) years,” he added.
Nana Addo announces GHS1bn stimulus for businesses
As part of measures to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic in Ghana to sustain businesses, President Akufo-Addo announced that all households and small to medium scale enterprises are to benefit from a stimulus package of one billion Ghana cedis.
According to him, this is part of the creation of a Coronavirus Alleviation Program to revive the country’s affected industries and address the distraction in economic activities caused by the pandemic.
He made the announcement when he announced a partial lock-down on Friday night, March 27, to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
“The Minister for Finance has been directed by me to prepare, for approval by Parliament, a Coronavirus Alleviation Programme to address the disruption in economic activities, the hardship of our people, and to rescue and revitalize our industries. He will, then, immediately make available a minimum of one billion cedis (GH¢1 billion) to households and businesses, particularly small and medium scale enterprises. The commercial banks are, in addition, responding to the Bank of Ghana’s 1.5% decrease in the Policy Pate and 2% in reserve requirement with a three billion-cedi (GH¢3 billion) facility, to support industry especially in the pharmaceutical, hospitality, service and manufacturing sectors” he said.