Finance Minister Seth Terkper said on Monday he is confident the government will do a deal with the International Monetary Fund in November for a financial assistance programme aimed at restoring fiscal stability.
The government is set to start a third round of negotiations with the Fund at the start of November on a possible three-year programme, and Terkper said he is confident the country can implement the terms of a deal.
“Yes, I am (confident of an IMF deal). You know why I am confident? This is not the first programme that Ghana has done. Ghana has done about eight or nine programmes with the IMF since 1993,” he told Reuters
The economy can see double-digit gross domestic product growth at some point in the next five years, given the government’s plans to increase oil and gas production and expansion in the services sector, he said on the sidelines of a conference in London.
Ghana’s GDP growth rose to nearly 15 percent in 2011, when it began pumping oil to add to traditional exports of gold and cocoa. The government’s statistical service last week forecast growth at 6.9 percent in 2014.
The economy has been weighed down this year by fiscal problems including rising inflation, which stood at 16.5 percent in September, a stubborn budget deficit and a currency that has fallen sharply.
Credit: Reuters
