Economic and Political Risk Analyst, Dr. Theo Acheampong, says Ghana’s recent economic gains will most likely last into the New Year.

However, the ability to sustain it for a longer period will be largely dependent on how well the debt operation policy does.

Ghana’s cedi has gained some grounds against the dollar in recent weeks. The cedi currently goes for 12.55 cedis a dollar. This is an appreciation from the 14.5 cedis a dollar it was at a month ago.

While the cedi seems to stabilize against the dollar, very little decrease is seen in Ghana’s inflation rate.

According to Dr. Acheampong, while the inflation numbers are slowly coming down, any significant decrease will be seen in the middle of next year, hopefully, when the government finally secures a deal with the IMF.

“Inflation is driven by several factors so I think really if you look at the numbers, the current inflation levels are sort of coming down and then we’re also seeing the numbers being further adjusted going forward. So I think, we’re probably at the top in terms of the inflation numbers.

“And the announcement or the short-term gains that we’re seeing will likely be sustained going into the New Year. But whether or not we can drag that or maintain this forward for a year or two is really more or less is dependent on the formal programme being announced.

“That is the work or the remit of the Central Bank and it comes down to several factors so it’s very difficult to pontificate or to forecast when inflation will start coming down in the considerable numbers that we expect.

“Currently, we’re sitting at almost 40%; government expects 28 or 29 percent for next year. I think we’ll probably have to wait till about the middle part of next year to see the numbers start coming down,” he said.