Ken Ofori-Atta – Finance Minister
• Ghana’s economy is on the path of improvement despite the debilitating impact of the pandemic
• The finance minister noted the stability of economic indicators are factors of the growth
• Government has initiated the Obaatan Pa programme to transform the economy
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said the Ghanaian economy is experiencing a positive turn around after it was, like other countries, badly hit by COVID-19.
He said economic indicators such as inflation and the performance of the local currency have been largely contributes to the growth.
“I am happy to say that our economy is already showing signs of recovery. Indeed, our economic indices reflect this state of affairs as inflation remains within the medium-term target of 8%±2%, while the cedi depreciation has been largely muted over the last twelve (12) months (depreciation rate of ~2.1% in the last 12 months).”
He credited President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for an effective management of the country which, he said, has won international recognition leading to the European Union considering Ghana as a hub for the production of vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic in the sub-region.
The minister was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of new Board members of three institutions; Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) on Tuesday, August 10, 2021.
Speaking about government’s flagship programme to create one million jobs, he noted that the Ghana Cares programme is expected to transform the economy.
“Under the leadership of His Excellency the President, we have launched the Ghana Cares/Obatanpa Program, a GHS100 billion three-and-a-half-year program designed to stabilize the economy as well as trigger a revitalization and transformation.”
He indicated that the programme has two main goals explaining that the first goal is to turbocharge productive sectors of the economy via competitive import substitution, export promotion, economic diversification, and leveraging of digitization.
Success on this goal, the sector minister said, will further “improve food security, accelerate industrialization, create jobs, strengthen our foreign exchange reserves, and stabilize the exchange rate.”
Optimization of the implementation of Government’s current growth and transformation flagships – such as the One District, One Factory, Planting for Food & Jobs, etc. – for greater results, value-for-money, and financial sustainability forms the second goal according to Ken Ofori-Atta.
Government has reiterated that it would contribute 30% while it relies on the private sector to raise 70% of the funds needed.
The minister mentioned on the part of government that, “It is in this vein that the Development Bank Ghana (DBG) is going to be launched to serve as a key pillar in our efforts to quickly recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and rapidly set our economic transformation path as articulated in the Ghana CARES/Obatanpa Program”.
But some economists, although have lauded the initiative, are of the view that the requirement looks impossible with regards to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses.
Director of the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER) Peter Quartey, said government may struggle explaining that the mid-year budget review presented in parliament by the finance minister did not detail a clear plan of raising revenue and “also looking at how businesses have been struggling in recent times, I wonder how the private sector would be able to raise the 70% of the funds”, Joy News quoted.
The Professor added that, the government’s contribution of 30% to the programme is likely to be a challenge because it has not been able to raise enough tax revenues when you look at the first half of the year.
“They may be able to raise some funds for the initiative, but I doubt if they will be able to raise the ¢100 billion target,” the ISSER Director added.
Prof Quartey made the assertions at a briefing on the 2021 Mid-Year Budget Review, organized by the ISSER.