Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo on Wednesday said his country’s economy was rebounding, and that it would wean itself off bailouts through sustained fiscal discipline and a battle against corruption.
Akufo-Addo was sworn into office a year ago, pledging to tackle corruption in the West African country, as well as clamp down on government expenditure as a way to bolster the economy.
He said his government over the last year had focused on stabilizing the economy, including clearing huge debts while rolling out infrastructure such as schools and roads.
Ghana, a major cocoa exporter, is in the last year of a US$ 918 million credit deal signed in 2015 with the International Monetary Fund to reduce the deficit, public debt and inflation, and lift growth.
“I am glad to report that the hard work is yielding positive results – the macroeconomic fundamentals have seen improvements through improved fiscal and monetary discipline,” Akufo-Addo told reporters in Accra.
“The important aspect and the cornerstone of our government going forward is to remain committed to fiscal discipline so that never again will we go back to the IMF or any bailout of the sort,” he added.
Ghana’s GDP growth rebounded to 9.3 per cent in Q3 2017 from 3.5 per cent in the same period of 2016.
Akufo-Addo said the government saved about $7 billion after reviewing power sector deals signed by his predecessor covering a 13-year contract. Eleven of the contracts had been terminated.
Akufo-Addo, who last week named a special prosecutor to investigate graft, warned that his appointees would not be spared if found culpable of corruption.
