Dignitaries at the event
GHANA RAKED in $3.6 billion in remittance inflows despite the lockdowns that affected economies globally, a World Bank Migration and Development Report for 2021 stated.
The figure represents a 5 percent increase in remittances from host countries including USA, the UK, Côte d’Ivoire, Italy, Germany and Canada.
Chief of Mission, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Abibatou Wane, speaking at the GIZ-Ghana Programme Migration and Diaspora Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Remittance in Accra, said the World Bank had projected that remittance flows to low and middle-income countries will fall by 7 percent, to $508 billion in 2020.
She said a further decline of 7.5 percent to $470 billion in 2021 was expected due to the lockdown and expected economic effects of the Covid-19 in the remittances sending countries but contrary to expectations, remittances to Ghana rather increased.
Madam Wane said remittances were a growing source of foreign funds, raising the standard of living for the vulnerable and low-income households across Ghana.
She said from a study conducted by IOM in the Ghana market, Ghana, as of 2019 was the second largest recipient of remittances in sub-Saharan Africa.
Madam Wane said the flows through official channels have increased from $117.6 million in 2007 to an estimated $3.8 billion in 2018, with remittances equate to 7.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product.
“It is estimated that if monitored, remittances sent through informal channels could increase total flows by as much as 50 percent,” she said.
She said the financial sector in Ghana, according to Findex, had gone through a period of change over the last five years, with financial inclusion reaching 57 percent in 2017.
Madam Wane informed that the increase in mobile penetration had created opportunities for the expansion of financial services by mobile money providers, making Ghana to overtake several markets to become the fastest growing mobile money market in Africa.
The Dialogue which was on the theme, “Leveraging Remittances for Recovery and Resilience Post-COVID-19” also marked the International Family Day of Remittances.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri