IMF Predicts Slower Economic Growth for Ghana

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Ghana’s economy will grow at a slower rate than it had earlier predicted.

The Washington-based lender in its latest World Economic Outlook predicted that Ghana’s economy will grow at a rate of 7.5 per cent revising an earlier prediction of 8.8 per cent it made in April.

Ghana which exports commodities such as oil and cocoa was expected to benefit from a rebound of commodity prices but a slowdown in the global economy meant that commodity prices have remained generally moderate.

The disappointment from commodity prices could partly be responsible for the decision by the Fund to cut its growth outlook for Ghana.

Nevertheless, the IMF’s GDP growth projection remains ambitious compared to the government target of 7.1 per cent announced in the 2019 mid-year budget review.

The government’s cautious projection is hinged on the pass-through effects of the banking sector reforms which is expected to have an impact on credit to the private sector.

The Finance Minister in his mid-year budget presentation to Parliament in July revised government’s initial bullish growth blaming it on lower than projected or and gas volumes.