Dr. Ernest Addison
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, has stated that the Central Bank’s monetary policies with support from the Ministry of Finance have kept the economy steady.
Speaking at the end of year cocktail by the Central Bank, Dr. Addison, said the policy mix under the IMF-supported PC-PEG programme is gradually yielding positive results.
“From the peak of 54.1% in December 2022, headline inflation has declined to 35.2% in October 2023 and today it has fallen to 26.4%. I kept on reminding people that inflation was at 12.7% in December 2021 and what we saw in 2022 should not be used to judge us,” he said.
“As you are aware, there has been considerable noise from our detractors who have celebrated the high inflation recorded in 2022. Today we are vindicated that inflation in 2022 was just a blip and we are quickly returning to where we were before the crisis”, he mentioned.
Dr. Addison added that the country’s external sector position has also improved in the year, alongside some buildup in foreign exchange reserve buffers which has provided some stability in the foreign exchange market, adding, the high frequency economic indicators monitored by the Central Bank has continued to improve, signaling the likelihood of outperforming the GDP growth projection for the year.
He continued that the financial sector has remained relatively stable and sound amid the series of shocks in the past six years.
Prudential data in the year to October 2023, show profitability of banks has remained relatively strong, and the Capital Adequacy Ratio, adjusted for the regulatory reliefs, was also higher than the revised prudential minimum, he stressed.
He concluded that the evidence is clear that the economy is responding well to the policy initiatives that have been put in place.
By Samuel Boadi