The Ministry of Finance (MoF) says the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) indicates a rapid economic recovery despite global challenges and ongoing debt restructuring.
According to the latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), cumulative economic growth for the second quarter (Q2) of 2024 reached 6.9%, a notable increase from the 4.7% recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
In a statement on Thursday, September 19, the MoF highlighted, “The economy’s robust recovery is in response to the macroeconomic stability and growth interventions that government is pursuing under our IMF-supported Post Covid-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG).”
The Ministry stated that the overall real GDP growth for the first half of 2024 rebounded strongly, with year-on-year GDP growth averaging 5.8% for the period, significantly higher than the 2.9% recorded in the same period in 2023.
“The 2024 first half-year growth of 5.8% is supported by a 4.8% expansion in the economy in Q1 2024 and 6.9% in Q2 2024. The 6.9% growth recorded in Q2 of 2024 is the highest quarterly GDP growth recorded in the past 5 years. Non-oil GDP growth for the first half of 2024 was equally robust with a growth rate of 5.6%, significantly higher than the 3.8% recorded in the first half of 2023. The first half-year economic expansion is supported by Q1 growth of 4.3% and Q2 growth of 7.0%.”
The MoF further noted, “It is instructive to note that the 5.8% overall growth for the first half of 2024 is significantly higher than the 1.5% growth target for 2024, which was later revised to 3.1% during the 2024 Mid-Year Review of Fiscal Policy presented in Parliament in July 2024.”
“Given that Ghana completed its domestic debt restructuring programme in 2023 and is currently in the process of completing its external debt restructuring programme, the growth performance for the first half-year of 2024 is much higher than the growth recorded by countries which have undergone similar debt restructuring programmes in the past. A case in point is Jamaica which recorded average real GDP growth of 1%-2% for about a decade post its debt restructuring.”
The Ministry also underscored that all three sectors of the economy—Agriculture, Industry, and Services—contributed to the robust growth recorded in the first half of 2024.
Source: Citi News
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