Inflation will drop in next one year - Veep
Vice-President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has expressed optimism that Ghana will record a consistent drop in inflation in the next one year to further stabilise the economy. He said the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also started bearing fruits in the area of fiscal consolidation.
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Mr Amissah-Arthur said this when a 12-member delegation from the Standard Chartered Bank, Africa and Middle East Region, led by the Chief Executive of the bank, Mr Sunil Kaushal, called on him at the Flagstaff House yesterday.
The delegation is in the country to hold its quarterly meeting and also draw a programme to commemorate 120 years of the bank’s existence in the country.
Standard Chartered PLC, a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London, UK, operates a network of more than 1,200 branches and outlets, including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures, in more than 70 countries and employs about 87,000 people.
Putting economy on track
The Vice-President told the delegation that the government was resolved to put the economy back on track, adding that the country recorded growth of four per cent per annum, while it registered a substantial reduction in the deficit.
Additionally, the government had made efforts to reduce the levy on petroleum products to further reduce the deficit and also place a limit to which the Bank of Ghana could finance the deficit, he said.
Mr Amissah-Arthur expressed concern over external conditions, such as the drop in commodity and gold prices, which impacted negatively on the economy.
“Such conditions, combined with the problems in our power sector, have created difficulties for our services and manufacturing sectors,” he acknowledged.
He asked the banking sector to come on board by collaborating with the government to fashion programmes to deepen the secondary market for government debt, as well as explore ways of structurally moving the economy towards growth to create jobs.
Chief executive
Responding, Mr Kaushal said Ghana was one of the bank’s biggest markets and described the celebration of 120 years of its existence in the country as exceptional.
He remarked that the launch of the anniversary was to reiterate the bank’s commitment to Africa.
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