The Ministry of Finance has described as “misinformation”, recent publications that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded Ghana’s economy from a lower-middle-income to a low-income status.
“We wish to reassure all Ghanaians that Ghana is still classified as a Lower-Middle Income Country”, a statement from the ministry said on Wednesday, 14 April 2021, adding: “It is unfortunate that the media houses in Ghana did not contact the Ministry for verification, neither did they contact the offices of the World Bank and/or the IMF in Ghana for corroboration”.
“Public misinformation of this magnitude has serious implications for the international investor community, especially coming on the heels of a major and successful Eurobond issuance two weeks ago”, the ministry added.
Read the full statement below:
GHANA HAS NOT BEEN DOWN-GRADED AS A LOW-INCOME COUNTRY
- The Ministry of Finance has noted with concern publications in some media houses, including Joy FM, that Ghana has been downgraded as a “low income country” by the IMF in accordance with its latest Fiscal Monitor.
- We wish to state that Ghana continues to be categorised as a “Lower-Middle Income Economy” based on the widely-recognised classification of the World Bank and the UN.
- The IMF Fiscal Monitor does not aspire at classifying countries by income level. Instead, it analyses the latest public finance developments, updates medium-term fiscal projections, and assesses policies to put public finances on a sustainable footing. The groupings of economies presented in the Fiscal Monitor’s Methodological and Statistical Appendix, serve an analytical purpose only. In this appendix, Ghana is conveniently categorised as a “Low-Income Developing Country (LIDC)”, like other Lower-Middle Income Economies such as Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria and others.
- Ghana’s classification in the recent IMF Fiscal Monitor did not change. In effect, there is nothing like the country being downgraded.
- Government has put in measures including the GHS100 billion Ghana CARES Obaatanpa programme that will provide the fiscal stimulus to drive growth and economic transformation post-Covid-19 pandemic.
- Ghana is projected to maintain a positive economic growth of 0.9% in 2020, representing one of the few “pockets of resilience” on the continent. In 2021 and over the medium term, the Government expects GDP growth to average 5% and the deficit to decline to under 5% by 2024.
- We wish to reassure all Ghanaians that Ghana is still classified as a Lower-Middle Income Country. It is unfortunate that the media houses in Ghana did not contact the Ministry for verification, neither did they contact the offices of the World Bank and/or the IMF in Ghana for corroboration. Public misinformation of this magnitude has serious implications for the international investor community, especially coming on the heels of a major and successful Eurobond issuance two weeks ago.
Source: ClassFMonline.com
