Ghana’s economy is gradually responding to reforms and regaining momentum, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said while presenting the 2024 annual budget to parliament on Wednesday.
Ofori Atta said economic prospects were encouraging as the macroeconomic fundamentals were beginning to improve.
“The overall budget deficit on commitment basis as of end-August 2023 was 3.0 percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), outperforming the targeted deficit of 4.6 percent of GDP. The outturn largely reflects improvement in revenue mobilization and slower spending,” the minister stated.
Ofori-Atta added that the local Ghana Cedi currency also stabilized against the U.S. dollar since early 2023 with a year-to-date cumulative depreciation of 25.7 percent compared to 54.1 percent over the same period in 2022.
The minister also referred to the 3.2 percent average GDP expansion in the first half of the year compared with a target of 1.5 percent as a strong signal of a rebounding economy.
He announced a 2.8 percent GDP growth target in 2024, an end-point inflation rate target of 15 percent, and gross international reserves of not less than three months of import cover.
These targets, Ofori-Atta said, were based on the overall macroeconomic objectives of the reforms being implemented backed by a loan of 3.0 billion U.S. dollars from the International Monetary Fund.
The cocoa, gold, and crude oil exporting economy, which used to be a shining star in the subregion, plummeted in recent years under a heavy debt burden, with inflation reaching a record high of 54.1 percent last December.