Ghana’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio for 2021 is 76.4 percent, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced.
According to the institution, the final results from the growth was 5.4 percent, meaning GDP nominal was 459 billion Ghana cedis year end debt.
The Government Statistician, Professor Kobina Annim, told journalists Wednesday Ghana’s economy in 2021 grew at the fastest rate in two years in the fourth quarter of the period.
He said that the development beat earlier projections made by the Finance Ministry [4.4 percent], the Presidency [5.3 percent] and the International Monetary Fund [4.2 percent].
Further, the GSS also said the country’s economy expanded by 7 percent in last three months of 2020, compared to a revised expansion of 6.5 percent in 2021.
The growth rate, however, exceeded the 4% median estimate of six Economists in a Bloomberg survey.
Growth in the fourth quarter was kept afloat by the agriculture and services industries, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, Mark Bohlund, a Senior Credit Research Analyst at REDD Intelligence, said that while Ghana posted strong economic growth in the final three months of last year, it is likely to have markedly decelerated in the first quarter.
Since the start of the year, the government has battled to ease investor concerns about the credibility of its fiscal targets. The government introduced spending cuts and passed a tax on electronic payments to rein in its budget deficit.
Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, said measures to address the economic difficulties include the implementation of the 20% expenditure cut for fiscal stabilisation and debt sustainability.
There is also 50 percent cut on fuel coupons for all government appointees, from this month, aimed at achieving the fiscal deficit of 7.4% of GDP for 2022.
There is an imposition of a complete moratorium on the purchase of imported vehicles for the rest of the year with the same goal.
Again, the government imposed a moratorium on all foreign travels, except pre-approved critical/statutory travels.
The government would prioritise completing ongoing public projects over commencing new ones to enhance efficient use of public funds over the period.
There is a reduction of expenditure on all meetings and conferences by 50%, Ministers and Heads of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are to contribute 30 percent of their salaries from April to December 2022 to the Consolidated Fund.
The Economist and Intelligence Unit (EIU) has said that Ghana’s real GDP grew by 5% in 2021, predicting that it will rise to 5.2% in 2022.
EIU has said in its five-year forecast for Ghana, released on April 13, 2022 that given the strengthening of global and domestic conditions; such growth will have been fairly broad-based.
