Economic Recovery: World Bank Country Director Acknowledges Progress But Urges Continued Efforts
Ghana has made significant progress toward macroeconomic stabilization, achieving notable improvements in inflation, debt restructuring, and fiscal consolidation, according to the World Bank Country Director, Robert Taliercio O’Brien.
However, he cautioned that substantial work remains for the country to fully recover.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Thursday, Mr O’Brien acknowledged the government’s success in curbing inflation.
“Inflation has been reduced and is on a declining path. It needs to keep declining—it’s still too high, but good progress is being made, thanks in part to the government’s policy stance,” he remarked.
According to him, the World Bank is particularly optimistic about Ghana’s debt restructuring efforts emphasizing the importance of the country’s decision to restructure its debts.
“Ghana implemented the domestic debt restructuring in 2023 and reached an agreement under the G20 Common Framework with its official creditors. As of June this year, the government announced an agreement in principle with the commercial bondholders, marking the third piece of the debt restructuring program. Again, very good progress, but more needs to be done,” he remarked.
Mr O’Brien further praised the government’s fiscal consolidation efforts, which have resulted in a significant reduction in public spending.
“We saw very important measures taken by the government to reduce expenditures last year, leading to a 7.9 percentage point decrease in spending,” he said, calling it “a very significant effort” to restore fiscal management.
Despite these accomplishments, the World Bank cautioned that Ghana’s economic recovery remains incomplete, with the World Bank Country Director urging continued focus on sustaining the progress made while tackling the remaining challenges.
