Category: Economy
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Prof. Mensah expectant of another increase of the MPR as inflation still soars
Financial Economist, Prof Lord Mensah is hopeful that the Bank of Ghana will increase the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) again to boost investor confidence in the country. His call comes ahead of the announcement of a new or maintained policy rate on September 27. The Bank of Ghana in an emergency meeting last month hiked…
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Economist sceptical about govt’s chances of securing IMF deal by end of year
Financial Economist, Prof Lord Mensah, is sceptical about government’s chances of tying down a bailout program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the last quarter of this year. This comes after the Managing Director of IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, in a meeting with the President of Ghana recently assured that a deal between Ghana and…
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Trade surplus to widen to 4.4% of GDP in 2022 – Fitch predicts
Despite the current poor economic situation and predictions of a worse situation due to further depreciation of the cedi and high inflation rate, Fitch Solutions believes elevated global commodity prices will cause Ghana’s trade surplus to widen to 4.4% of GDP in 2022 from 1.4% in 2021. Ghana recorded a trade surplus of $1.43 billion…
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Fitch projects 43% depreciation of the cedi, higher inflation in 2022
The hope of Ghanaians to see an end to the sharp rise in inflation and the wanton depreciation of the local currency has further been dashed as Fitch Solutions forecasts a further weakening of the local currency throughout the year. In its latest ‘Ghana’s Private Infrastructure Investment Set for Medium-Term Recovery’ report, Fitch is predicting…
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Economist reacts to slash in Ghana’s growth rate forecast
Economist, Dr. Patrick Asuming, says the slash of Ghana’s growth rate forecast to 3.1 percent by Standard Bank is an indication that the government has not gotten a handle on how to save the economy. Africa’s biggest bank, Standard Bank, has slashed Ghana’s economic growth rate forecast for 2022 to 3.1 percent from the earlier…
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Government disappointed by Standard & Poor’s downgrade rating
The government has expressed its disappointment in Standard and Poor’s downgrade of Ghana’s credit rating despite the “bold policies” it implemented in 2022 to address the fiscal challenges confronting the economy. S&P Global Ratings, on Friday, 5th August, downgraded Ghana’s foreign and local currency credit rating from B-/B to CCC+/C with a negative outlook, sighting…
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Standard Bank cuts down Ghana’s 2022 growth rate to 3.1%
Africa’s biggest bank, Standard Bank has revised this year’s projected economic growth rate target for Ghana from 6.2 % to 3.1%. It has also slashed its 2023 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) forecast for the country to 4.1%, from the earlier 6.8%. This forecast from the Standard Bank is lower than the government of Ghana’s revised…
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Dr. Ampabeng advocates consolidation of road taxes into fiscal policy
A Fiscal Policy Specialist with Oxfam Dr. Alex Ampabeng is advocating for the consolidation of all road levies into one road tax. He believes that the introduction of a road tax could help generate about 20 million cedis in revenue for the government annually. “Scrap all toll booths on the roads, scrap all charges relating…
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E-levy should not be scrapped despite slash in revenue target – Economist insists
Amidst several calls for the scrapping of the electronic transfer levy following another revision in the revenue target for the levy, some economists insist the levy should not be scrapped. The government had hoped to rake in about GH₵6.9 billion from the e-levy, but the figure was revised downwards to about GH₵4.9 billion following the…
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Gov’t revises macroeconomic targets; GDP growth rate target reduced to 3.7%
The government has revised this year’s projected economic growth rate target of 5.8% to 3.7%. According to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, the reason behind the revision includes the heightened global pressures such as the Russia-Ukraine war which has caused the revenue measures to underperform. He disclosed this during the presentation of the mid-year budget…