Justification for 2023 2nd quarter tariff adjustment
Background The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) sits between utility service providers and consumers. While PURC ensures that the utilities are financially viable to provide adequate services (by approving adequate revenue requirement for them), the Commission also ensures that consumers get access to reliable and competitively priced services. This means the Commission must balance the […]
Free zones enterprises record US$1.9bn export revenue in 2022
Companies under the Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA) generated US$1.9 billion in export revenue last year. In addition to this, the Chief Executive of GFZA, Michael Oquaye Jnr disclosed that the companies have created over 60,000 direct jobs over the years. “We have over 200 companies across various sectors of the economy, generating over US$1.9 […]
Bernard Avle writes: Breaking the 17; Alternatives to IMF conditionalities for economic development in Ghana
Over the past 65 years, Ghana has faced periods of large fiscal and external imbalances that have led to high inflation, declining reserves, depreciation of the Cedi, and high-interest rates. During such episodes, the country has had to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a financial bailout. Ghana’s latest approach to the IMF […]
BoG to reverse FX control measures
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison, has revealed plans to reverse the foreign exchange (FX) control measures implemented last year in response to declining reserves at the time. Those measures included the withdrawal of foreign exchange support for the importation of certain non-critical or essential goods – such as rice, poultry, vegetable […]
Aker sells Pecan field in US$1 upfront payment
…after failing to get US$1.3bn from GNPC Two years after the country’s failed bid to purchase shares in two offshore petroleum blocks owned by Aker Energy for US$1.65billion, the company has entered into a US$1 upfront payment agreement with a subsidiary of its main creditors for one of the blocks – raising questions over Ghana […]
External creditors close to giving financing assurances for Ghana’s debt rework talks
Ghana’s official creditors are poised to grant financing assurances and form a committee co-chaired by France and China – key steps for the nation to secure a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan, sources told Reuters. The country’s bilateral lenders are expected to formally grant financing assurances as soon as Friday – confirmation that […]
BoG urges commercial banks to lower lending rates as inflation figures decline
The commercial banks operating in Ghana have been urged by the Bank of Ghana to lower their lending rates while the country’s inflation figures are showing a decline. According to the Ghana Statistical Service, the inflation rate for April 2023 was at 41.2 percent, a drop from the earlier recorded 45 percent in March 2023. […]
AfCFTA implementation: Africa’s logistics sector set to deliver results
The transport and logistics sector in Africa has struggled to support the continent’s increasing population and energetic private sector for far too long. But recent studies have suggested that that phenomenon is about to change and the benefits for the continent’s wider economy could be extremely transformative That change is being made possible through the […]
Economic growth in Ghana, others could permanently decline if world splits into 2 isolated blocs – IMF
Sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana could stand to lose the most if the world were split into two isolated trading blocs centered around China or the United States and the European Union, the International Monetary Fund. In this severe scenario, sub-Saharan African economies could experience a permanent decline of up to 4% of real gross domestic […]
Ghana bags $3.5bn from non-traditional exports in 2022
The Value of Ghana’s Non-Traditional Exports increased to 3.5 billion dollars in 2022 from the 3.3 billion dollars recorded in 2021. This is contained in the annual non-traditional export statistics report 2022 revealed by the Ghana Exports Promotions Authority. The 3.5 billion dollars recorded in 2022 indicates a 6% increase over the 2021 NTE earnings […]