The Institute of Progressive Governance (IPG), an economic think tank, has asserted that Ghana’s economy is performing better now than it did at the end of the Mahama administration, despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Speaking on a panel discussion on Movement TV and MyABC TV on Saturday, June 22, 2024, Dr. George Domfe, a fellow at the think tank, emphasized that the economic growth rate is the best indicator of an economy’s performance. He noted that the first quarter growth rate of 2024 surpassed the rate recorded when Mahama left office at the end of 2016. “Ghana is growing at 4.7% as the first quarter growth rate indicates. This figure, when juxtaposed against what the NDC left when leaving office, means that the economy is doing far better than the 3.4% President Mahama left us with,” Dr. Domfe highlighted.
According to the IPG, Ghana’s economy experienced significant growth in recent years, with an 8.1% increase in 2017 and 6.5% in 2019. However, in 2020, the growth plummeted to 0.54% due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The economy was hugely hit by COVID-19, and that showed in the growth figures the economy recorded at the time. However, it recovered strongly in 2021 as it grew at 5.4%. Unfortunately, the Russia-Ukraine conflict affected the global economy which Ghana was not left out. This was evident in the growth rate recorded in 2022 (3.1%) and in 2023, the rate was 2.9%,” Dr. Domfe explained.
The IPG attributed the modest growth in 2023 to a reduction in government expenditure from GHC227 billion to GHC190 billion. Despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting a 1.5% growth rate for Ghana’s economy in 2023, it ultimately grew at 2.9%.
Dr. Domfe, a Development Economist and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS) at the College of Humanities, University of Ghana, also provided a historical context for Ghana’s economic growth.
He reported that during former President Mahama’s tenure, the economy grew by 2.8% in 2014, 2.1% in 2015, and 3.4% in 2016. He further mentioned that, based on figures from the Bank of Ghana, the growth rates under Mahama were only better than those recorded during the late President Jerry John Rawlings’ administration.
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