Ken ofori-Atta
STANDARD & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings, an international rating agency, has affirmed Ghana’s long and short-term foreign and local currency ratings at B- and maintained the outlook at stable.
The agency, in a recent publication on Ghana dated February 4, 2022, said its decision to maintain Ghana’s ratings at B- with a stable outlook was predicated on several factors.
These included Ghana’s solid growth prospects with real GDP growth averaging 5.0 per cent over the period 2022-2025 and the relative transparent and responsive political system.
In addition, S&P said it acknowledged that Ghana’s economy was one of the most open economies in Africa.
The rating follows an earlier assessment by Moody’s which government described as a “desktop exercise”.
The decision by S&P to maintain Ghana’s rating at B- with a stable outlook underscores its broad recognition of the challenges to the global economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the long road to recovery facing the global economy. The Ministry of Finance stated that amidst such global challenges, S&P Ratings’ assessment on Ghana reflects the resilience of the Ghanaian economy and appreciation of the decisive policies that have been instituted to drive the recovery process.
“S&P, in particular, took note of the recent policy announcement by the government to further cut expenditure by 20% to reinforce the fiscal consolidation process.
“In their view, this very decisive measure will help to ensure fiscal sustainability and stabilise debt but may slow down growth in the short term. S&P projects that with these measures, growth will then pick up again in 2023 and thereafter. In their own assessment, S&P is confident that the fiscal measures planned for 2022 and beyond should result in a faster consolidation of the fiscal metrics than previously envisaged, including stabilisation of the public debt trajectory.”
It continued that the S&P report identified some constraints that prevented an upgrade of Ghana Sovereign ratings which included the continuous uncertainty surrounding fiscal correction, including the delayed approval of the E-Levy Bill to give assurances to the 2022 budget. Other concerns such as high-interest cost and greater dependence on domestic financing sources given the worsening external financing conditions facing Ghana were also highlighted.
“Going forward, the government remains fully committed to restoring fiscal rectitude in public finances. The recently announced expenditure rationalisation measure to decisively strengthen fiscal consolidation of the 2022 budget underscores the government’s resolve to address critical concerns over the economy, create jobs for the youth, obtain a positive primary balance and stabilise debt.
“The Government of Ghana is optimistic about the future and Ghana’s solid growth prospects, as highlighted by S&P, and remains committed to its fiscal consolidation agenda.
“We remain absolutely confident in our resolve, in line with the President’s vision, to build a strong, resilient and prosperous entrepreneurial nation of a Ghana Beyond Aid,” the ministry stressed.
BY Samuel Boadi