Ghana's public debt increases to GH¢435 billion

Delivering the mid-year fiscal policy review of the budget statement and economic policy of the government on Monday, July 31, 2023, he said using the revised GDP released by the Ghana Statistical Service in April 2023, the debt-to-GDP ratio as of end-December 2022 stood at 71.3 percent.

Ofori-Atta stated that "Overall first-quarter growth for 2023 was 4.2 percent, up from 3.0 percent recorded for the same period in 2022. This growth largely reflected an increase in the Services Sector which recorded a growth of 10.1 percent.

"Headline inflation eased in the first half of 2023. From the peak at 54.1 percent in December 2022, headline inflation gradually trended downwards from 53.6 percent in January 2023 to 42.5 percent in June 2023. The moderation in inflation was largely supported by monetary policy tightening, relative stability in the exchange rate, and lower and stable ex-pump petroleum prices.

"Cumulatively, the Ghana cedi depreciated by 22.1 percent against the US Dollar in the year to July 17, 2023, compared to 21.1 percent in the same period in 2022. The Cedi, excluding the January 2023 depreciation of 20%, has depreciated by an impressive 1.84% between February and July 17, 2023."

Ofori-Atta revealed that "total export receipts fell by 7.9 percent to US$8,178.56 million on the back of lower crude oil exports receipts. Crude oil exports declined by 41.3 percent year-on-year due to a 21.4 percent decline in volumes and a 25.3 percent fall in prices.

"Current account recorded a provisional surplus of US$849.16 million (1.1% of GDP) compared with a deficit of US$1,111.87 million (1.5% of GDP) for the same period in 2022; and Gross International Reserves dropped from US$6.2 billion at the end of December 2023 to US$5.3 billion (2.5 months of import cover) in June 2023, reflecting BOG’s objectives of reducing their foreign liabilities in line with the IMF programme.

"Net International Reserves received a boost from gold reserves and improved to US$2,353.95 million equivalent to 1.1 months of import cover, compared with US$1,440.00 million (0.6 months of import cover) recorded at the end of December 2022."

Providing an update on the implementation of the 2023 budget, with insights into the economic and fiscal performance for the first half of the year to stabilize the economy, promote growth and provide social protection for the vulnerable as outlined in the IMF-supported Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth, Ofori-Atta said 2022 was indeed a difficult year for him and the government.

He stated the price of goods and services is going high as a result of the aftermath of COVID-19 and as well as the Russia-Ukraine war which has affected the global world.