Stéphane Roudet, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Ghana, has expressed optimism about Ghana’s economic recovery, stating that the country has likely reached its lowest point and is now poised for full recovery.
Roudet emphasised that this positive outlook hinges on the government’s continued adherence to the IMF program, as it has been executed over the past year.
He underscored the importance of maintaining the current trajectory of the program for sustain Ghana’s economic improvement.
Responding to concerns about potential economic challenges stemming from global developments, Roudet dismissed the notion that Ghana’s current recovery might be short-lived. He stressed that maintaining macroeconomic stability depends on the strict implementation of the ongoing program by the government.
Ghana’s performance under the programme
The Mission Chief For Ghana, Stéphane Roudet, also revealed that “Ghana is overperforming under the IMF programme and that is good.”
“Ghana’s programme is delivering on its promises and in fact, it is overdelivering,” the Mission Chief added.
“Growth is also doing better than what we have forecasted and that is also influencing our decision to review our forecast,” he noted.
He said the development is going to prompt them to even review the growth forecast for Ghana for 2024, saying inflation ended last year better than what they had projected.
“We are also surprised as to how growth has performed under Ghana’s programme,” the Mission Chief added.
He said this was never evident, at the beginning of Ghana’s programme.
“The required revenue is being raised, and the Bank of Ghana is also doing its part to ensure that inflation is brought under control, and that is good for the programme,” he noted.
The Mission Chief for Ghana also added that “the external position has also been doing very well; fiscal position is also adjusting in line with the programme working and delivering on its promises.”
“Everything is moving in the right direction and this is something that was not considered at the beginning of the IMF programme.”
Mr. Roudet emphasized that Ghana’s positive economic performance has been bolstered by the country’s unwavering commitment and dedication to implementing the IMF program.
In terms of restoring confidence in Ghana’s economy, Roudet highlighted the importance of various stakeholders, including rating agencies and development partners, viewing the country’s economic trajectory favourably. He stressed that achieving this goal relies heavily on the continued and thorough implementation of the IMF program in the future.
“If the macroeconomic development unfolds as we planned in the IMF programme, then definitely we should expect them to respond as well as all agencies,” the Mission Chief added.
“We are not only looking at the rating agencies responding, Ghanaians as well, domestic stakeholders will realise that, and that will boost confidence in the economy.”
On growth and other projections captured in reports released during the IMF/World Bank spring meetings, Stéphane Roudet noted that those were based on “old assumptions.”
He therefore said the country should expect new numbers when they launch the Regional Economic Outlook.
“We believe that the economy will perform better than had been projected,” Ghana Stephan Roude reiterated.
He added, “Ghana has a growth potential average of 5 per cent going forward in the medium term.”
“Gradually, Ghana will be able to get back to its growth potential going forward,” the Head of Mission concluded.