Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta Archives

24 Jan

We’re Committed To Success Of Private Businesses — Ofori-Atta

Wontumi1BusinessFinance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, private businesses

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said the government was committed to the success of the private sector and has, therefore, put in place measures to create an enabling environment for both local and foreign businesses to thrive in the country. Speaking at a round-table discussion with German businesses in Ghana in Accra yesterday, he said fair and transparent procedures, including a reliable legal framework, were important for businesses to succeed in the country. To ensure that, Mr Ofori-Atta said the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) was developing an Investment Code to expand domestic and foreign strategic investment incentives.…

23 Jan

Gov’t Will Implement Strong And Ambitious Structural Reforms – Finance Minister

Wontumi1NewsFinance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has announced that government will implement strong and ambitious structural reforms aimed at supporting Ghana’s physical consolidation and growth agenda. This comes after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the second tranche of US$600 million for Ghana. “Going forward, strong and ambitious structural reforms would be implemented in the areas of tax policy, public financial management, energy and cocoa sectors,” he announced. According to Mr Ofori-Atta, the approval of the second tranche marks “a pivotal milestone following the successful conclusion of our domestic debt exchange programme in 2023.” He mentioned that the international community has credited the…

19 Dec

Ken Ofori-Atta Reacts To Resignation Rumours

Wontumi1NewsFinance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Resignation

Contrary to reports that he had resigned, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta appears set to the lead Ministry in 2024. Joining the staff of the Ministry of Finance in thanksgiving for God’s mercy and preservation in 2023, Mr. Ofori-Atta said the Lord will continue to lead and guide the country in 2024. “I’m assure that the Lord will continue to lead and guide us in 2024. Our testimony is indeed victory on every side! Humbled to be leading the brilliant and resilient staff of Ministry of Finance” he said. As such, the Minister is poised to lead a turn around in an economy…

15 Nov

Ghana’s Economy Is Valued At One Trillion Cedis By End Of 2024 Compared To GHc 219.5Bn In 2016 – Finance Minister

Wontumi1Business2024 budget, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta

The Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta has told Parliament that Ghana's economy under the Akufo-Addo administration is valued at over One Trillion Cedis. This, he said, is against the GHc219.5billion that was inherited from the Mahama administration in 2016. Presenting the 2024 budget statement on the floor of the House on Wednesday, November 15, the Finance Minister said “The 2024 budget is even more significant because we cross the one trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) mark for the first time in our economic history. “Let me repeat, Ghana's economy, under President Akufo-Addo , in 2024 final year in office is projected to be valued at over One Trillion Cedis in 2025 from…

15 Nov

Cedi Has Stabilized Against The Dollar, Reflecting Positive Impact Of Robust Economic Activities – Finance Minister

Wontumi1News2024 budget, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta

The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said that the Cedi has stabilized against the dollar since early 2023 with a year-to-date, cumulative depreciation of 25.7 percent compared to 54.1 percent over the same period in 2022. Specifically, he said, the Cedi has only depreciated by 6.4 percent on a cumulative basis since February 2023 compared to 53.9 percent over the same period in 2022. “The stability of the Cedi largely reflects the positive impact from the restoration of economic activity,” he told Parliament while presenting the 2024 budget statement on Wednesday, November 15. The Finance Minister further said that the Akufo-Addo administration was determined to maintain discipline in order to keep…

15 Nov

We Turned The Corner When We Successfully Completed First Review Of IMF Deal – Finance Minister

Wontumi1News2024 budget, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta

The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Attahas said that the Akufo-Addo administration is determined to maintain discipline in order to keep the economy stable. He said the government had turned the corner relative to the economic challenges when it successfully completed the first review of the 3-year 3 billion International Monetary Fund External Credit Facility (IMF-ECF) programme. “We turned the corner when we completed the IMF first review,” he told Parliament while presenting the 2024 budget statement on Wednesday, November 15. He further assured that the government is poised to “maintain stability and keep growing. and ensure increased growth, currency stability” “We turned the corner when inflation started declining from 54 1 in…

15 Nov

Economic Recovery Is Real And Here To Stay – Finance Minister

Wontumi1NewsBudget reading, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta

The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has told Parliament that the government has worked to restore Ghana's economy on the path of growth that will create more jobs. Mr Ofori-Atta stated that the prompt deployment of strong fiscal and monetary policy measures since the last year as well as in the first half of 2023 largely accounts for the continued economic recovery that is being experienced. “So far, growth in 2023 has been more resilient than expected, inflation has declined in line with the fundamentals, the fiscal and external balances have improved, and the exchange rate has stabilised,” he said when he delivered the 2024 budget statement in the House…

15 Nov

Ofori-Atta To Present 2024 Budget In Parliament Today

Wontumi1BusinessBudget reading, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is expected to present the government’s 2024 Annual Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament today, November 15. This is a constitutional exercise to be carried out by the Finance Minister on behalf of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The presentation of the budget was in doubt as there was no communiqué from the Finance Ministry, but a Tuesday, November 14 statement affirmed and assured of the presentation. “In accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and section 21 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) the Minister for Finance will, on…

06 Nov

Ofori-Atta Visits SOL Cement Following Closure Over GH¢700M Tax Default

Wontumi1BusinessFinance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Sol cement

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has demanded that SOL Cement’s managers in Tema settle at least 40 percent of their outstanding liabilities before allowing the company to resume operations. The GRA closed the cement factory two weeks ago due to GH¢700 million in tax defaults, including VAT. The company was cited for VAT infractions, corporate income tax, and penalties after a tax audit by the GRA’s tax enforcement. It failed to pay taxes for more than two years and has been asked to settle the amount within 10 days. Kwabena Gyambra, the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes, noted that the company’s…

23 Oct

Banks Write Off ¢2.416Bn As Bad Loans As Of August 2023

Wontumi1BusinessBoG, Dr Ernest Adison, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta

Banks wrote off ¢2.416 billion as bad debt in the first eight months of this year, 36.4% increase over the previous year, highlights of Banks Income Statement by the Bank of Ghana as of August 2023. This is compared with ¢1.713 billion bad loans recorded ending June 2023. The provisioning was made up of loan losses, depreciation, among others. According to the Bank of Ghana, the banking industry’s asset quality weakened during the period under review reflected by the pickup in the Non-Performing Loan (NPL) stock and Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio. The industry’s NPL ratio rose to 20.0% in August…