Ghana promises to sustain fiscal discipline for economic recovery

Ghana would work hard to sustain fiscal discipline by continuing with measures introduced under the 2023 budget and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-supported program to achieve economic recovery, Finance Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta said on Monday.

In the mid-year budget review to the parliament, Ofori-Atta said Ghana has started making progress in dealing with the recent economic challenges due to the measures taken by the government.

“We have turned the corner, and more importantly, we are determined to continue down that path,” said the minister, adding that Ghana has made significant progress in restoring macroeconomic stability, with the economy showing signs of recovery within a stabilizing exchange rate, softening inflation, and declining interest rates.

“These outturns are the results of the focused implementation of all the measures we presented in the 2023 budget and the positive sentiments arising from the progress of the IMF program,” Ofori-Atta said.

The minister, however, added that the government would slash income and expenditure targets related to oil revenue in line with the shortfalls in oil revenue expectations due to changes in global prices.

The IMF approved Ghana’s 3-billion-U.S.-dollar loan request in May and immediately disbursed 600 million dollars to rescue the West African cocoa, gold, and crude oil exporter from severe debt overhang, soaring inflation, continuous currency depreciation, and rising cost of living. Enditem