Ghana\u2019s economy in the first nine months of this year has chalked remarkable success within both the fiscal and monetary space.<\/p>\n
These successes realign the economy to pre-COVID key performance indicators, with the latest inflation figure pegged at 9.4 percent for September year-on-year, and for the first half-year of 2025 year on year Gross Domestic Product stood at 6.3% according to Ghana Statistical Service data. Ghana\u2019s external and domestic debt significantly lowered to sustainable level, decreasing to 44.9% as at July 2025 showing a sharp decline from 61.8% as at December 2024, and much lower than initial IMF and Fitch forecasts.<\/p>\n
On the monetary front, the Bank of Ghana\u2019s policy rate is currently pegged at 21.50% and foreign exchange rates of the Ghana cedi to the major international trading currencies have significantly strengthened and stabilised with the cedi being adjudged as the strongest currency in Africa for the first eight months of 2025.<\/p>\n
However, to maintain these successes, an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Ghana has strongly urged the government to diversify Ghana\u2019s economic production base to project sustainable growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur production base is too narrow. We import almost everything. And as the growing middle class comes up, we are becoming much more import dependent rather than self-sufficient\u201d, Professor Festus Ebo Turkson said while speaking during a UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Deloitte Ghana seminar last week, cautioning that, Ghana\u2019s economy remains too dependent on imports and vulnerable to external shocks.<\/p>\n
Prof. Turkson argued that diversifying Ghana\u2019s economy production base starts with supporting local farmers and driving deliberate demand for Ghanaian produce. This demand, he said, must not be left to market forces but should be intentionally cultivated through government policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdding value to and demanding local produce will boost their productivity. Once we produce enough for export, we can then produce for import substitutes,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
This falls directly in line with the call made by the Government Statistician on the government to expand local food production, maintaining effective policy coordination among others to anchor the current success in achieving single-digit inflation.<\/p>\n
Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu emphasised that the achievement, while significant, is only the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can actually do this by continuing to do what we are doing, which is keeping the inflation down,\u201d he said on Channel One TV\u2019s The Point of View on Wednesday October 8, adding \u201cThis will include keeping public spending discipline, supporting local food production and also maintaining policy coordination.\u201d<\/p>\n
He warned against complacency, noting that although inflation has fallen, prices are still rising just at a slower pace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not the time to relax at all. In fact, inflation of 9.4% still means that on average, we are seeing the general price level increasing by 9.4% between September of last year and September of this year,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Dr. Iddrisu described the return to single-digit inflation as progress, but said the real challenge now is ensuring that it can be sustained over the long term.<\/p>\n
On the human capital, Prof Turkson explained that Ghana\u2019s human resource quality has improved from a \u201clow\u201d to a \u201cmoderate\u201d scale over the past two decades a good foundation for light manufacturing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we need now is to tailor education to the needs of industry,\u201d he said, calling for investment into soft infrastructure to enhance youth training and promote the use of appropriate, labour-intensive technologies.<\/p>\n
Incentivizing firms to create jobs<\/strong><\/p>\n Prof Turkson further suggested that providing incentives for firms that adopt technology while creating jobs would guarantee a steady stream of revenue needed to fuel further growth.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the way we can develop. That is what we call transformation,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n Enhancing Ghana\u2019s investment climate<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Cheryl Otoo, a Senior Manager at Deloitte Ghana, highlighted Ghana\u2019s regulatory complexity and infrastructure deficits as two of the biggest constraints to investment. To this, Wisdom Kpano, Partner at Deloitte Ghana, recommended that the government channel resources into agriculture and agro-processing, renewable energy, and oil and gas \u2013 sectors with high potential for inclusive growth.<\/p>\n Also, Nicolas J\u00f8rgensen Gebara, CEO of the European Chamber of Commerce in Ghana, pointed to mining and digital transformation, especially in the context of the government\u2019s 24-Hour Economy Policy, while Osman Aziz, Senior Investment Officer at Venture Capital Trust Fund, underscored the need to bridge the gap between education and industry needs.<\/p>\n For Prof. Turkson, resolving these systemic bottlenecks and creating an enabling environment for private sector growth must be central to government policy.<\/p>\n Investor Opportunity Mapping Project \u2013 a step forward<\/strong><\/p>\n The Government’s 24-Hour Economy Policy has prioritised agribusiness and agro-processing and is encouraging the youth to participate in farming to supply raw materials for industry.<\/p>\n Through the Ghana Investment Promotions Centre (GIPC), the government is also pursuing the establishment of robust manufacturing, building and construction, and ICT sectors, and is currently identifying projects nationwide for targeted investment.<\/p>\n Kwame Kesse Agyapong, the Head of the Investment Promotion and Business Development Division (IP&BD) at GIPC, shared that the recently launched Investor Opportunity Mapping Project will survey all districts in Ghana to identify viable projects aligned with the government’s priorities.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter mapping them out, we will host the international and domestic community next year to showcase these projects and attract capital,\u201d Agyapong remarked.<\/p>\n Mr Kpano commended the initiative, especially for its potential to generate valuable investment data. He, however, urged the GIPC to track the impact of actual investments, as well as track its expansion by focusing on investments existing local businesses are making, not just new foreign ones.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of fully owned Ghanaian businesses do not know that you can be members of the GIPC. We should do more to raise awareness across regions so these existing businesses, whether Ghanaian owned or foreign owned, can understand these opportunities and access them,\u201d he advised.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By Adnan Adams Mohammed<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ghana\u2019s economy in the first nine months of this year has chalked remarkable success within both the fiscal and monetary space. These successes realign the economy to pre-COVID key performance indicators, with the latest inflation figure pegged at 9.4 percent for September year-on-year, and for the first half-year of 2025 year on year Gross Domestic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,8],"tags":[305,354],"class_list":{"0":"post-9387","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy-and-finance","8":"category-news","9":"tag-gdp-growth","10":"tag-ghana-statistical-service-gss"},"yoast_head":"\n