Ghana and seven other Sub-Sahara African countries recorded a decrease in the score of World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment for Africa report in 2022.

According to the report, the country’s overall score declined by 0.2 to 3.4, following an economic deterioration.

In terms of Economic Management, Ghana scored 2.5 whilst it recorded 3.7 each for Structural Policies and Policies for Social Inclusion and Equity. 

For Public Sector Management and Institutions, the country recorded a score of 3.6.

The report attributed Ghana’s weak performance to limited fiscal space and monetary financing of deficits as a result of a credit downgrade and loss of access to international markets.

Again, it stated that the debt distress which led to high inflation, low investor confidence, and external imbalances were major factors to the decline in the score.

The report also captured the successful implementation of the International Monetary Fund Extended Credit Facility programme, the debt restructuring, and improved domestic revenue mobilisation and debt management.

"Despite global economic challenges, more countries in Sub-Saharan Africa saw improvements in their overall CPIA scores compared to the previous year. In Western and Central Africa (AFW), the overall score increased for eight countries—Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, the Republic of Congo, and Togo. The overall score increased for four countries in Eastern and Southern Africa (AFE)—Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, and Zambia".

"In contrast, the overall score decreased for eight countries—Chad, the Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Sudan".

The countries with improved scores made notable advancements in the economic management, policies for social inclusion, and governance clusters. Conversely, the countries with declining scores faced economic management and governance challenges. For the most part, the countries that received downgrades were positioned toward the lower end of the scale, while the upgraded countries generally had overall scores above 3, indicating a growing divergence in scores across the region in 2022.

However, it stated that investment climate has deteriorated and financial sector vulnerabilities have increased.  Reforms are required in the quality and accessibility of the judicial system.

The CPIA Africa 2023 report provides an assessment of the quality of policies and institutions in all 39 International Development Association (IDA) eligible countries in Sub-Saharan Africa for calendar year 2022. 

The average overall CPIA score for Sub-Saharan Africa remained unchanged at 3.1 in 2022.