The agriculture sector of Ghana’s economy experienced a 2.8 per cent growth in the first-quarter of 2016, Minister of Finance Seth Terkper has revealed.
This shows a decline as compared to figures released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) for the last quarter of 2015, which recorded a 4.9 per cent growth in Agriculture.
Mr Terkper told Parliament on Monday July 25 when he presented the supplementary budget and mid-year review that the services sector also grew by 8.8 per cent. However, industry declined by 1.1 per cent.
He also indicated that government accrued 10.3 billion in tax revenue and requested GHS1.8bn to supplement the 2016 budget for the second half of the year.
The November budget projected oil revenues at $53/barrel but oil prices are still hovering under the $50 mark, which means the expected oil revenue has not been met. Also, the third tranche of the $918million IMF bailout money is yet to be released. Further, the delay in launching another $1bn Eurobond has also created a revenue shortfall which needs plugging.
Mr Terkper, who doubles as the acting Minister of Power, told parliament that the Mahama-led administration has been implementing broad policy initiatives to address imbalances in the economy and consolidate “our middle-income status”, as the country progresses towards a “brighter” status.
According to Mr Terkper, GDP to public debt ratio has been reduced from 72% to 63% with Ghana’s local debt stock now standing at 26% and foreign debt standing at 37%. Mr Terkper also said government is persisting with its smart borrowing policy. He attributed the government’s economic achievements to home-grown solutions implemented by the government in the past few years.
“We have made significant progress in implementing these transformational initiatives,” Mr Terkper told the house.
Source: ClassFMonline
