Government has sanctioned a host of economic measures to further bolster Ghana's economic foundations, catalyze growth, and foster an environment conducive to job creation and prosperity. These strategic initiatives are the outcome of a three-day Cabinet retreat, concluding on Sunday, October 22, 2023, and are poised to play a pivotal role in government’s effort to revitalize the economy.
Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who shared insights of the Cabinet retreat in an interview with journalists in Accra expressed government's satisfaction with the progress in implementing the Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG), which has contributed to a sense of relative stability of the economy. Notably, this stability has led to a decline in inflation, a more stable national currency, an improved international reserve position, and significant advancements in fiscal consolidation.
“The first thing was to take note of the implementation of the progress of the Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) and Cabinet was pleased with the results so far; the relative stability that is returning to the Ghanaian economy and the relative recovery that we're beginning to see. 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 the Minister said are structural reforms, particularly focusing on the medium term. These reforms, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said, encompasses strengthening the Public Financial Management System to address off-book arrears that have historically strained the nation’s financial health. He said government 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.
Further, he said government is 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 2024. He said 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 reiterated are designed to strengthen Ghana's economic foundations, drive growth, and create a conducive environment for job creation and prosperity.
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