Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has pointed out the government met some key fiscal targets under the International Monetary Fund-supported programme.
They include zero Central Bank borrowing, a ceiling (cumulative) of GH҃4.3 billion for the primary deficit on a commitment basis; zero accumulation of external debt payments and a non-concessional borrowing limit of $66.2 million in present value terms.
In addition, the government at the end of December 2023, achieved the indicative targets including a minimum of GH¢114.19 billion for non-oil public revenue and a minimum of GH¢4.07 billion in social spending.
Speaking at the Monthly Press Briefing, Dr. Amin Adam, said the indicative target of a ceiling of zero net change in the stock of payables of the central government and payables to the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) is still being assessed and the assessment will be completed before the IMF Executive Board meeting on the 2nd Review.
He stressed that the government has also implemented structural reforms under the 2nd Review of the IMF-supported programme, including the expansion of the GIFMIS infrastructure to include over 280 IGF-reliant institutions and the publication on Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission’s website the final report of the first quarterly audit of the Electricity Company of Ghana’s single account.
“The positive results of the first and second reviews of the implementation of the IMF-supported Programme testify that we are achieving the Programme’s objective of restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, building resilience through the implementation of strong and wide-ranging structural reforms, and laying the foundations for stronger and more inclusive growth, while protecting the poor and vulnerable. We are now seeing signs of macroeconomic stability and economic recovery”, he added.
Growth turned out to be more resilient and robust in 2023 than initially programmed as Gross Domestic Product grew by 2.9% compared to the original projection of 1.5% and the revised projection of 2.3%.
Headline inflation also declined by 31 percentage points from 54.1% at the end of 2022 to 23.2% at the end of Dec 2023 before inching up slightly to 25.8% in March 2024 due largely to base effect.