Governor Optimistic About Prospects of Economy ... but Worried About External Developments

By Kingsley Asare

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison says the country's growth outlook for 2019 looks bright, but he is worried about the external developments which could affect the growth of the economy next year.

Addressing the Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM) Ghana Mining Industry Awards (GMIA) in Accra at the weekend, he said U.S Federal rates hikes and monetary policy easing was influencing portfolio reversals, stressing this could affect Ghana and other emerging economies.

This year's GMIA which also marks the 90th anniversary of the GCM was on the theme: 'Responsible and sustainable mining industry: Partner for national development.'

It was meant to award individuals and organisations who have worked tirelessly for the development of the mining industry.

The Governor, who was the guest of honour, said the country had seen a major turnaround in its macroeconomic fundamentals with inflation trending down.

Dr Addison said the strong macroeconomic fundamentals informed the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee of the BoG to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 17 per cent.

'Our decision to maintain the MPR was largely based on the growing confidence in the Ghanaian economy," he said.

The BoG since the beginning of the year has maintained the MPR at 17 per cent for three consecutive times, citing stability of the economy and the strong macroeconomic fundamentals as reasons.

The Governor indicated that over the past two years, Ghana had moved from a trade deficit to trade surplus, stressing, "We expect a robust growth next year."

Dr Addison indicated that the expected additional inflows from gold and oil and gas sectors next year would help spur the growth of the economy.

"We are confident of the outlook and trend next year considering the inflows from gold and oil and gas sectors," the Governor said.

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