Economy
From The Report: Ghana 2017
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For several years Ghana was one of the leading lights of the “Africa rising” narrative, with double-digit growth rates that ranked at one point among the highest in the world. The discovery of oil, bumper crops of cocoa and an influx of new investment sus¬tained a robust expansion of GDP. Now, however, though the fundamentals remain attractive, short-term pressures have led to a downturn. External factors – including weakness in key exports like crude oil, gold and cocoa – have contributed, while a depreciating currency, high interest rates, elevated inflation and a ballooning fiscal deficit have exacerbated the declines. To address the structural problems in the econ¬omy and remove the most pressing obstacles to growth, in April 2015 Ghana and the IMF embarked on a three-year, $918m extended credit facility and fiscal consolidation programme aimed at restoring debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability. The programme has already brought measurable macroe¬conomic gains, but there is much to be done still.

This chapter contains an interview with Mawuena Trebarh, CEO, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Bump in the road: Strong fundamentals should return the country to rapid growth
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For several years Ghana was one of the leading lights of the “Africa rising” narrative, with double-digit growth rates that ranked at one point among the highest in the world. The discovery of oil, bumper crops of cocoa and an influx of new investment sustained a robust expansion of GDP. However, the country’s economy has taken a stumble. While its fundamentals – including a developed private sector, transparent regulatory frameworks and a wealth of natural resources – remain attractive,…

Analysis

Triple jump: The government hopes a series of measures will help it meet the three goals of its consolidation programme
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As part of the three-year fiscal consolidation programme with the IMF that began in 2015, Ghana is looking to accomplish three overarching goals: ensure macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability; promote growth, development and job creation; and maintain social spending to protect the vulnerable. To meet these goals, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP) and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) are leading efforts to reduce spending, increase revenues and initiate structural reforms…

Interview

Project focus: Mawuena Trebarh, CEO, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities and regulatory reforms
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Interview:Mawuena Trebarh Which sectors of Ghana’s economy offer the greatest opportunities for foreign investors? MAWUENA TREBARH: Several investment opportunities abound in Ghana’s value chain in agriculture, oil and gas, infrastructure, manufacturing and real estate. GIPC has transitioned from a broad-based investment promotion approach to one that is focused on promoting specific investment projects. Ghana is working to create an integrated industry value chain system by building…

Analysis

Formal warning: The government is working to formalise the shadow economy
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Like many sub-Saharan African countries, Ghana faces the challenge of formalising a very substantial informal sector that operates primarily outside of the government’s purview. According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), 46.1% of the labour force was employed in the agriculture sector in 2013. Outside of agriculture, 77.7% of the labour force held informal employment. There are a wide variety of contributing factors to the large size of the informal economy, ranging from poverty…

Analysis

Ready, cedi, go: The currency may be set to stabilise after a volatile period
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While currencies across Africa slid against the dollar over 2015, the cedi was among the worst performing, falling by 19.6%. After a volatile summer, Ghana’s currency began to stabilise in the third quarter of 2015, ending the year at GHS3.82:$1. This held through the first half of 2016, with the cedi trading in the range of 3.78-4.06 to the dollar. Mounting public debt, rising inflation and increased levels of non-performing loans in the banking sector were among the factors contributing…