The President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, Dr. George Agyekum Donkor, recently met with Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam during the 2024 IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington.
Their discussion revolved around the bank’s funding activities within Ghana and the Sub-Region, exploring ways in which the Bank could lend support to the government’s priority projects.
In addition, the Ghanaian delegation engaged with Brent Neiman, Assistant Secretary of International Finance at the US Treasury, focusing on bilateral relations and recent economic developments in Ghana.
Further meetings were held with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which invests in various sectors such as energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and technology.
Dr. Amin, speaking to the Ghanaian media in Washington DC, highlighted the positive outlook of Ghana’s economy by global financial leadership.
He also highlighted that positive feedback received from bilateral discussions with world leaders, including IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President Ajay Banga, reflected Ghana’s recovering economy.
The Minister said positive feedback and reassurances from these meetings had boosted the confidence of external partners.
As a result, they indicated their willingness to provide funding once the government finalized agreements with official creditors and completed external debt restructuring.
Economic Achievements Highlighted
Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam stressed that government initiatives such as the Post COVID-19 Program for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) as of May 2023, were already showing promising results.
“These measures have delivered very favorable macroeconomic outcomes in just one year, these include more than anticipated growth performance in GDP growth with GDP ending 2023 at 2.9% compared to the original target of 1.5% and the revised target of 2.3%.’’
Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam
Dr. Amin stated that inflation had decreased significantly, dropping by 30.9 percentage points to 23.2% by the end of December 2023, compared to its peak of 54.1% in December 2022.
He further noted that although inflation remained steady at 23.2% in February 2024, it saw a slight increase to 25.8% in March 2024, primarily due to the base effect.
The Minister also acknowledged other positive outcomes of the program, including the relative stability of the Cedi against major trading currencies.
Additionally, he noted an improvement in the trajectory of public debt, with the debt-to-GDP ratio decreasing to 71.4% by the end of 2023 from 73.5% by the end of 2022.
Furthermore, there was an improvement in fiscal balances, indicating a strong push towards fiscal consolidation.
“The primary balance (on commitment basis) which is the fiscal anchor under the program improved from a deficit of 4.3% of GDP at the end of 2022 to a deficit of 0.3% of GDP at the end of 2023. The 2023 outturn was lower than the target deficit of 0.5% of GDP.”
Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam
These impactful measures the Minister noted, featured prominently in discussions with the IMF, World Bank Group, and other bilateral meetings attracting commendations from Ghana’s development partners.
As the Chair of the Vulnerable 20 Group of Finance Ministers, the Finance Minister hinted at the group’s focus on enhancing national and regional efforts through Climate Prosperity Plans.
These plans, he explained, aimed to shift the development trajectory of vulnerable economies towards resilience and prosperity despite challenges.
As such, the Washington meetings underline confidence in Ghana’s economic resilience and growth plans, showcasing positive outcomes and partnerships.
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