Ghana lowers 2016 growth projection

Ghana cut its economic growth forecast for 2016 to less than last year’s level, which was the lowest in more than two decades, as the country reduced its targets for oil and gold production.

West Africa’s largest economy after Nigeria will likely grow 3.2 percent this year after expanding 3.9 percent in 2015, the slowest in more than two decades, Finance Minister Seth Terkper said in a statement on the ministry’s website. The ministry previously estimated a 5.4 percent expansion in 2016.

The change in the growth outlook for the year follows a “revision of gold production forecasts for 2016-18 and the shutdown of the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah” oil production vessel on the Jubilee oil field, Terkper said in the statement.

Ghana also revised its fiscal deficit target for 2016 to 5 percent of GDP from 5.3 percent, according to the ministry’s statement that will serve as guideline for the preparation of the medium-term budget. The fiscal deficit may improve to 3.6 percent of GDP in 2017, 3 percent in 2018 and 2.3 percent in 2019, the finance ministry said.

The nation forecasts total income of 56.7 billion cedis ($14.4 billion) in 2016, 60.1 billion cedis in 2018 and 67.3 billion cedis in 2019, the ministry said in the statement.