Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Stephen Amoah, has underscored the critical need to enhance macroeconomic policies and decisions to fortify Ghana’s economy.
This emphasis follows the restoration of positive macroeconomic indicators observed over the past year.
In the State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered in parliament, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo reaffirmed the substantial improvement in the macroeconomy by the close of 2023 compared to the previous year.
Notably, inflation, which had reached a peak of 54.1% in December 2022, has now decreased to 23.5% as of January 2024.
Key economic metrics further exhibit encouraging trends. The real GDP growth for the initial three quarters of 2023 averaged 2.8%, surpassing the targeted growth rate of 1.5% for the year. Additionally, the Ghanaian cedi demonstrated stability since February 2023, experiencing a cumulative depreciation of only 9% between February and December 2023.
Moreover, Ghana’s Gross International Reserves experienced a substantial buildup, reaching US$5.9 billion, sufficient to cover 2.7 months of imports of goods and services. The current account, which concluded 2022 in the negative at -2.1% of GDP, turned positive, standing at 1.4% of GDP by the close of September 2023.
In an exclusive interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News, Dr. Amoah underscored the importance of consistency and cost control, advocating a focus on areas that would not only consolidate but also strengthen the fundamental elements of the economy.
“We only have to as a country and as economic managers make sure that we keep to the consistency and even improve upon our macroeconomic policies and decisions and make sure that we control costs more concentrate on areas that can consolidate our economy and that can also strengthen the definitional elements,” he stated.