The Economist Ghana 2018

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Man on a mission On January 7th 2017, during his inaugural speech, Ghana’s newly elected 8th President, Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo famously said ‘Ghana is a rich country, so there’s no excuse we be poor’. As the second largest producer of cocoa in the world after its neighbour Côte d’Ivoire, home to the second largest gold mining reserve on the continent after South Africa, and with Reuters announcing Ghana as Africa’s 4th largest oil producer by 2020, Akufo-Addo is on a mission to prove his point. In the run up to the 2016 Presidential elections Ghana had suffered uncharacteristic power cuts, a weakened banking sector, resulting in a newly negotiated stranglehold to the IMF, leading Akufo-Addo, the opposition candidate, to victory. The new President and his carefully chosen key Ministers, representing the pillars of the Ghanaian economy: Finance, Energy, Agriculture, and Natural Resources, inherited a country that was underperforming and gravely indebted, yet they shared a clear set of policies and goals. Thankfully, as a pro-private sector party, rather than career politicians, key government roles were given to the A-list of private sector professionals who have shown to think out of the box in their first year in office, determined to invert the government’s balance sheet with the primary focus being that of fiscal discipline and a tax regime to help stimulate the private sector avoiding government (over)spending. Late last year, Akufo-Addo received the President of France, Emmanuel Macron and reiterated his preference for a ‘Ghana beyond Aid’ over donations that African nations traditionally receive. Heads of State flocked to Ghana in 2017, from all over Europe and the world over, but perhaps more interestingly was this President giving priority to his African neighbours, understanding and showing that unity and stability was in everyone’s best interest. Ghana’s new Vice-President H.E. Mahamudu Bawumia believes this government instilled investor confidence because they restored fiscal discipline and “advocated for moving the economy from a reliance on taxation to a focus on production”. The head of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Yofi Grant admitted “We do have some audacious goals; to make Ghana the best place to do business in Africa, and also to attract FDIs north of the USD$ 5billion mark within the next three years”. Promi-

ses made on the campaign trail, from free Senior High School (SHS) to a better healthcare scheme were launched. Varying programmes aimed at kick-starting industry with a particular focus on agri-business and a major digitization of the economy to leapfrog Ghana into the new era (as well as to wean out corruption), have been rolled out in record time. The World Bank forecast that growth in Sub Sahara Africa will pick up at 3.2% in 2018 and Ghana will lead African economies with an 8% GDP growth forecast followed by Ethiopia and Tanzania at 7.2%, providing fiscal consolidation remained on track and a quick resolution to the power crisis was reached. Most investors interviewed last year felt that the government was already delivering on those conditions. At Davos last month, JPMorgan announced it will be entering Africa via Ghana and Kenya, another sign that Ghana is fast becoming the reliable country in which to invest and expand to the wider region. Ghana as a hub for West Africa is not a new concept, and this despite big brother Nigeria’s location next door, commanding respect as Africa’s largest economy, having surpassed South Africa in recent years. ExxonMobil and ENI, two of the world’s largest oil companies are the most recent big names to enter the market, another undeniable sign that Ghana is fast becoming the place to be. Managing expectations is going to be key. Having taken office at a disadvantage as the debt revealed itself beyond that which had officially been disclosed, it has been no small feat thus far to get the finances back in order, which has largely been achieved. Aim for the stars, as this government appears to be doing, is the Akufo-Addo way. The new President’s mission to do Ghana’s fore-fathers’ motto of “Freedom and Justice” proud is well underway.

Names from left to right: H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo - President of Ghana, H.E. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia - Vice President of Ghana, Ken-Ofori-Atta - Minister of Finance, Alhassan Andani - CEO of Stanbic Ghana, Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa - Chief Executive of the Volta River Authority, Fred Oware - Chief Executive of BUI Power Authority, Mohamed Samara - CEO of Meridian Port Services Ltd, Yolanda Cuba - CEO of Vodafone Ghana, Hon. Boakye Agyarko - Minister of Energy, Charlotte Osei - Chariman of the Electoral Commission, Dr. Afriyie Akoto - Minister of Agriculture, Dr. KK Sarpong - CEO of GNPC, Cecilia Dapaah - Minister of Aviation, Ernest Addison - Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Yofi Grant - CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Ray Sowah - CEO of Ghana Commercial Bank, Dr. Said Deraz - Chairman of GCR, John Awuah - CEO of Universal Merchant Bank.


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The Economist Ghana 2018 by Miguel Duarte - Issuu