Mid-Year Budget: Ghana’s economy stalling not recovering – Economist

Economist, and a lecturer at the University of Ghana, Prof. Patrick Asuming, has disputed the government’s claims of a strong economic recovery, stating that the reality on the ground contradicts this assertion.

He argued that the economy is stalling, rather than recovering, as claimed by the government.

This comes after Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, declared during the 2024 Mid-Year Budget Review on July 23 that the economy is rebounding stronger than anticipated.

In an interview with Selorm Adonoo on The Big Issue on Channel One TV, Prof. Assuming pointed out that the Minister’s comments are at odds with the hardships faced by Ghanaians.

He cited the exchange rate, power outages commonly known as ‘Dumsor’ and unemployment issues which he believes do not accurately reflect the true state of the economy, as evidence of this disparity.

“From my point of view, recovering and strongly are not descriptions I will give to the economy as you know today. I think the Finance Minister is right to say the growth rate of last year [2023], is higher than the revised targets from the Mid-Year Budget. But we have to understand that even the higher-than-expected growth rate was still lower than the 2022 growth rate.

He emphasised, “And we all see 2022 as a really bad year for the Ghanaian economy and yet, the growth rate of last year [2023] that we say is higher than expected is still lower. Yes, of course, we set a lower target and we beat it, it doesn’t in any way tell us that the economy is on a strong footing.

“We don’t measure the progress of the economy by the GDP growth without paying attention to where the growth rate is coming from. And the extent to which Ghanaians are benefitting. I think if you go on the streets and ask many Ghanaians, what they will tell you is completely at variance with what the finance minister said that the economy is recovering strongly… The statement that the economy is recovering strongly is a lot of overstatement.

“Simply quoting that the exchange rate is lower than it used to be doesn’t really tell the full picture. The stabilisation we saw is kind of stalling.”

 

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