The World Bank has warned Bank of Ghana (BoG) over a possible continuation of asset purchase programmes and financing of the country’s fiscal deficit.
According to the multilateral organization, although asset purchase programmes of the BoG and financing of government’s deficits at the peak of the pandemic outbreak in the country helped government meet its financing needs to fight the pandemic as well as stabilize the country’s financial markets, a continuation of the programmes will erode the Central Bank’s operational independence, risk currency weakness that de-anchors inflation expectations and increase worries about debt sustainability.
“Central banks in some emerging market and developing economies have employed asset purchase programs in response to pandemic-induced financial market pressures, in many cases for the first time. When targeted to market failures, these programs appear to have helped stabilize financial markets during the initial stages of the crisis. However, in economies where asset purchases continue to expand and are perceived to finance fiscal deficits, these programs may erode central bank operational independence, risk currency weakness that de-anchors inflation expectations, and increase worries about debt sustainability,” said the World Bank in its January 2021 Global Economic Prospects Report.
BoG last year during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, undertook an asset purchase programme in which the Bank purchased Ghs 10 billion worth government securities. This was the first time the Central Bank had exceeded the mandatory 5 per cent purchases of government securities in 40 years.
The asset purchase programme as explained by the BoG was due to the inability of government to enter the debt market – both international and domestic – for fears of high interest rates.
The World Bank’s caution against a continuation of asset purchase programme and financing of government’s deficit would not be the first time, as the governor of the Central Bank, Dr Ernest Addison, has himself cautioned against it.
“The wide fiscal gap raises important financing issues, and its financing should not be by recourse to central bank funds as this will weaken the bank’s ability to serve as the anchor of monetary and exchange rate stability,” he said at the University of Ghana Alumini lecture in December 2020.
According to the World Bank, the country’s policymakers need to sustain the country’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic by gradually shifting from income support to growth-enhancing policies.
“In the long run, policies to improve health and education services, digital infrastructure, climate resilience, and business and governance practices will help mitigate the economic damage caused by the pandemic, reduce poverty and advance shared prosperity.”
“In the context of weak fiscal positions and elevated debt, institutional reforms to spur organic growth are particularly important. In the past, the growth dividends from reform efforts were recognized by investors in upgrades to their long-term growth expectations and increased investment flows,” noted the World Bank.
Ghana’s fiscal deficit according to Fitch Solutions, was projected to be around 16 per cent end-December 2020. The country’s total public debt presently stands at 71 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
