Finance Minister, Seth Terkper says although government is hopeful the economy will begin to show positive signs of recovery by the end of the year, it is remaining conscious of repeating the blunders that resulted in the current slump.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) team after its first meeting with government team over Ghana’s request for a programme to save the dwindling economic fortunes, recommended a programme to help place public debt on a sustainable path, whilst lowering inflation.

The recommendations could lead to job losses and total removal of subsidies on utilities and fuel.

But Finance Minister Seth Tekper says many of the actions recommended by the IMF are already in place in the government’s own home grown policies.

“Hopefully the gas will come on stream, cocoa has recovered and we have other indicators showing up positively,” Mr. Terkper told host of Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Kojo Yankson, Monday September 29,2014.

He concedes, “that is not to say that the economy will perform better instantly” because the projected budget deficit of 8.5% is likely to be missed.

“We ourselves had said at the beginning of the year we will end the year at 8.5% [deficit] but we ourselves have revised that to 8.8%,” the Finance Minister said.

He said government is working towards further stabilising the economy, ruling out any complacency.

“The emphasis is on learning lessons [from] what we have gone through, rebalancing the budget in order that we can move expenditures to productive sectors of the economy…so that when we get to the into the middle term we would be able to return to a path to faster growth”.