A three-day Cabinet retreat has resulted in a number of economic policies that aim to strengthen Ghana’s economic base, stimulate growth, and create a favourable environment for job creation and prosperity.
These strategic actions are part of the government’s plan to revitalize the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, briefed the media in Accra on the outcomes of the Cabinet retreat on Sunday, October 22, 2023.
He expressed the government’s satisfaction with the implementation of the Post-COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG), which has restored some stability to the economy.
He noted that the stability has manifested in lower inflation, a more stable currency, a better international reserve position, and significant progress in fiscal consolidation.
“As you can notice inflation is coming down, though currently about 38, which is still high but there is a combination of efforts to ensure that it comes down a bit more.”
“The cedi is largely stabilized, the international reserve position is improving, and then most importantly the fiscal consolidation that we’ve been trying to achieve between last year and this is being achieved and even as a forecast to next year, we have some confidence that will be achieved,” the Minister said.
Central to these approved measures are structural reforms, particularly focusing on the medium term.
These reforms, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said, encompass strengthening the Public Financial Management System to address off-book arrears that have historically strained the nation’s financial health.
The government, he said, will see to it that all government entities will adopt the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform and implement stringent spending controls to control spending by government entities.
He stated that the government is further set to collaborate closely with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to curb inflation stating that the Central Bank has committed to maintaining a tight monetary policy, aiming to reduce inflation from its current level of approximately 38% to around 15% by the end of the following year.
According to him, ensuring the stability of the exchange rate is also a focal point of these economic measures, preventing significant fluctuations as the year progresses.
These government-approved economic measures, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah emphasized are designed to strengthen Ghana’s economic foundations, drive growth, and create a conducive environment for job creation and prosperity.
