IMF Confirms Robust Growth In 2024 – Minority

Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam

The Minority in Parliament has commented on the IMF's recent statement. They say it confirms that economic growth was better than expected for 2024.

In a statement issued in Accra, they noted that the IMF reported a 5.7% growth. This is significantly higher than the target of 3.1% and a revised target of 4%.

The external sector also performed well, with gross international reserves reaching $8.9 billion by the end of 2024. The Fund highlighted that the financial sector has stabilized.

Dr. Amin Anta, former Minister for Finance, signed the full statement. The IMF reached a Staff Level Agreement with Ghana for its fourth program review.

This agreement will allow Ghana to receive $370 million once approved. The IMF confirmed stronger-than-expected growth in 2024 at 5.7%.

Total assets in the financial sector grew by 33.8% by year-end 2024. Total deposits increased by 28.8%, while core liquid assets rose by 46.3%.

The capital market also showed strong performance, with the GSE All Share Index up by 56.2% as of December 2024.

Earnings ratios improved too; Return on Assets before Tax grew by 5.4% in December 2023 and by 5% in December 2024.

Return on Equity after tax increased to 34.2% in December 2023 and to 30.8% in December 2024.

Three key sectors—the real sector, external sector, and financial sector—achieved significant success.

The Fund noted that Ghana is on track for debt sustainability due to successful debt restructuring efforts.

Debt-to-GDP fell from 82% at the end of 2022 to just 61.8% at the end of 2024.

However, concerns were raised about fiscal performance due to accumulated payables and inflation issues that missed targets.

The Staff Level Agreement suggests government manipulation of fiscal data for political gain.

While Finance Minister Ato Forson announced a primary fiscal deficit of 3.9%, the IMF found it to be only at 3.25%.

This discrepancy indicates about a difference of roughly 0.7%.

Despite this, the IMF adjusted its definition of primary fiscal balance during this review process.

They included multi-year payables as if they occurred within one year, altering previous assessments.

We trust that the IMF Executive Board will evaluate fiscal performance fairly and restore confidence in our data integrity.

Reaching this Staff Level Agreement supports claims made by the previous NPP government against current assertions from new leadership regarding mismanagement.

Minister Ato Forson claimed earlier that targets were missed under previous governance but evidence now shows many targets were met successfully.

The fourth review focuses on economic performance through End-December 2024 results attributed largely to prior NPP government successes.

The new government has recently discussed new policies with the IMF but these are yet to be implemented fully.

Thus, credit for this agreement cannot be claimed by the NDC government at this time.

Ghanaians may remember President Mahama’s administration struggled under an earlier IMF program due to missed targets leading to renegotiation then; however, current programs remain intact without such issues arising now.

As we await approval from the IMF Executive Board level, we assure Ghanaians we will hold our government accountable for maintaining sustainable economic growth and managing debt levels responsibly.