An economist and financial analyst at the University of Ghana, Dr. Patrick Asuming, is of the view that the projected economic growth of GH¢1 trillion in Ghana’s economy in 2024 is nothing worth celebrating.
Dr. Asuming said he was surprised the figure was widely reported because it means nothing economically, taking into consideration the country’s historic economic average.
“I was quite surprised that it received much mention because, for me, the GH¢1 trillion does not really mean anything. The economy is growing over time, and at some point, we will hit some numbers, so the question is, if you move from GH¢800 billion to GH¢1 trillion, that is more than a 20 percent growth, and that will be more exciting news than when you are so close to GH¢1 trillion, and then you hit it. Because you are projecting that we will grow at 2.8 percent, and that growth number is quite small for the economy of our size; it is way below our recent historic average, so it shouldn’t have had much emphasis.”
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, in his presentation of the 2024 budget in Parliament on Wednesday, November 15, said Ghana’s economy is anticipated to surpass GH¢1 trillion in 2024.
Dr. Asuming added that the budget fell short of telling Ghanaians how the government was going to take concrete measures to build the economy without the intervention of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“In terms of the overall view of the budget, I think it was more of the direction that we have been in the last couple of years, and there were some expectations given the severity of our problems and the nature of action needed to be taken. We would have seen some shift, especially in terms of how we address the fiscal problems and also more concrete actions and strategies on how we will build the economy beyond the International Monetary Fund, but I didn’t see that.”
