Ghana’s growth rate revised to 14 per cent

The World Bank has revised Ghana’s 2021 growth rate and forecasted the economy to grow at 1.4 per cent this year.

This year’s forecasted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate is below the 3.4 per cent the

Bank earlier projected in June last year and weaker than the Sub-Saharan growth rate of 2.7 per cent in 2021 – 0.4 percentage point weaker than the previously projected – before firming to 3.3 per cent in 2022.

In its latest report dubbed Global Economic Prospects, the World Bank said the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic on oil and other sectors of the economy would influence the country’s growth.

“In Ghana the region’s fourth largest economy the expected resilience in agriculture will not be sufficient to offset the pandemic’s lingering impact on oil and other sectors.  As a result, the growth forecast for 2021-22 has been downgraded,” the report said.

The report said food price surges were bound to worsen in equality and raise food insecurity among the poor in some African countries including Ghana.

“A combination of the COVID-19 containment restrictions and adverse weather events (floods, droughts, locust infestations have contributed to localised food price spikes in the region (Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal),” the report said.

The World Bank revised Ghana’s growth rate for last year to 1.1 per cent from the 1.5 per cent earlier projected.

“Inflation remained elevated, or even accelerated, in response to weaker currencies and food price pressures in others – Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal,” the report said.

The report revealed that Ghana’s economy would rebound to 2.4 per cent in 2022, lower than the 4.4 per cent the Bank earlier projected.

It said the pickup in economic activity and export growth would influence the country’s GDP growth next year.

BY KINGSLEY ASARE