The Bank of Ghana has reiterated the need for confidence building to calm financial markets and prevent disorderly reactions during these periods of heightened uncertainty.

According to the Central Bank, these conditions and the impact on the Ghanaian economy, especially on inflation, the exchange rate, impact on the country’s balance of payments has resulted in Ghana approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for some form of cooperation to address the current imbalances and challenges facing the economy.

Speaking at a Financial Literacy Workshop in Northern Zone of Ghana for Media Practitioners, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari said there is the need to put in all efforts to begin to restore confidence in the economy.

“At this stage, we need to put in all our efforts to begin to restore confidence. And therefore, my remarks this morning will focus on: the current state of the Ghanaian economy and the policies being pursued; the macroeconomic outlook and policies going forward; and the role of the media to help rebuild confidence in the economy”.

He pointed out that despite the appreciable growth rate in the Ghanaian economy, post COVID-19, a significant downside risks remain in the outlook, including further headwinds from the Russia-Ukraine war and potential outbreak of new variants of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This, he said, has prompted downward revision of the growth target to 3.7%, from the initial 5.6 percent target.

“As we are all aware, significant challenges remain with the execution of the 2022 budget as revenue mobilisation has not kept pace with projections, thereby creating financing difficulties. In the absence of access to the international capital market and given the constrained domestic financing, central bank overdraft has helped to close the financing gap as reflected in the mid-year budget review. The fiscal challenges have also accentuated debt sustainability concerns.

He said “it is expected that the ongoing policy discussions with the IMF will help address the underlying macroeconomic challenges, restore fiscal and debt sustainability, and re-anchor sustainable balance of payments.”