IMF Programme: Finance Minister Touts Highest Half-Year Growth Rate in 5 Years
Half-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate hit a five-year high for Ghana on the back of the Government’s robust implementation of the $3bn IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF).
The Half-year GDP growth rate according to Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, stood at 5.8% at the end of June 2024.
“The 5.8% half-year growth rate is the highest in the last five years, showing a strong recovery and rebound in GDP growth rate for this year,” posited Dr Amin Adam at the Ministry’s Monthly Economic Update on December 3, 2024.
According to the Minister, the benefits of the IMF programme are evident with the largely stabilized exchange rate and headline inflation rate.
Adding significant progress has been made by the country in achieving a primary surplus of 0.2% of GDP and further working towards achieving a primary surplus of 0.5% of GDP by the end of 2024.
“We have made significant progress in fiscal consolidation resulting in a 0.2% primary surplus, and are currently working towards achieving a 0.5% primary surplus by end-2024,” the Finance Minister noted.
The 2024 first half-year growth of 5.8% is supported by a 4.8% expansion in the economy in Q1 2024 and 6.9% in Q2 2024.
Non-oil GDP growth for the first half of 2024 was equally robust with a growth rate of 5.6%, significantly higher than the 3.8% recorded in the first half year of 2023.
The 5.8% overall growth for the first half of 2024 is significantly higher than the 1.5% growth target for 2024 which was later revised to 3.1% during the 2024 Mid-Year Review of Fiscal Policy and recently revised to 4% by the IMF.
All three sectors of the economy, namely Agriculture, Industry, and Services contributed to the robust growth recorded in the first half of 2024:
The industry sector recorded an average growth of 8.0% in H1 2024 up from the contraction of 2.0% recorded in H1 of 2023. The 8% growth is supported by growth of 6.8% in Q1 and 9.3% in Q2.
The sector’s strong recovery in the first half of 2024 was driven mainly by growth recorded in the following sub-sectors: 13.9% growth in Mining and Quarrying supported by 12.9% growth in Q1 and 14.8% in Q2; 9.9% growth in Oil & Gas supported by 13.8% growth in Q1 and 5.8% in Q2; 8.3% growth in Construction supported by 8.2% growth in Q1 and 8.4% in Q2; and 2.8% growth in Manufacturing supported by 2.0% growth in Q1 and 3.9% in Q2.
The agricultural sector expanded by 5.0% in the first half of 2024 supported by Q1 growth of 4.7% and Q2 growth of 5.4%.
The Agriculture sub-sectors that contributed the most to growth in the sector for the first half-year of 2024 include 5.6% growth in the Crops sub-sector underpinned by 5.0% growth in Q1 and 6.4% in Q2; 4.7% growth in the Fishing subsector supported by 4.7% growth in Q1 and 4.7% in Q2; and 4.7% growth in the Livestock subsector supported by 4.6% growth in Q1 and 4.7% in Q2.
The services sector expanded by 4.4% in H1 2024 supported by growth of 3.2% in Q1 and 5.8% in Q2.
The Services sub-sectors that contributed the most to the H1 2024 growth include: 7.4% growth in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities subsector supported by 7.9% growth in Q1 and 4.9% in Q2; 15.3% growth in Information and Communication underpinned by 17.9% growth in Q1 and 12.8% in Q2; 6.5% growth in the Financial & Insurance Activities subsector supported by 5.5% growth in Q1 and 7.6% in Q2; 3.4% growth in the Transport & Storage sub-sector supported by 3.3% in Q1 and 3.6% in Q2.
