Business News of Tuesday, 2 October 2018
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
2018-10-02
Chairman of the event, Nana Osei Bonsu (M) launching the report at the ISSER Conference hall
The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, has successfully launched ‘The 2017 State of the Ghanaian Economy Report’.
The report, which is the 27th edition, was launched at the institute’s conference hall by the Chief Executive of Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF), Nana Osei Bonsu, who chaired the event.
Nana Osei Bonsu lauded ISSER for undertaking such a commendable initiative, admitting that the State of the Ghanaian Economy Report is very crucial to the survival of private businesses in Ghana.
Director of ISSER, Prof. Felix Ankomah Asante, giving a general overview of the country’s performance with regards to the economy, indicated that Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 8.5% was a major rebound from the anaemic rate of 3.7% in 2016. This development, Prof. Asante stated, clearly breaks the downward trend since 2011.
According to him, findings from the report indicate that oil was the main contributor to faster economic growth in 2017, which suggests that the Ghanaian economy is gradually becoming dependent on oil.
He also highlighted key economic areas such as inflation, interest rates, cedi depreciation, interest rates, and performances in the services, agricultural and industrial sectors. He disclosed that sectorial growth rate, in general, fell from 5.7% to a disappointing 4.3%.
CEO of Private Enterprise Foundation, Nana Osei Bonsu
Prof. Felix Ankomah Asante described transparency and accountability in government as unimpressive and slow, and blamed bureaucracy as the key promoter of corruption in the system. He also blamed the lack of proper sanctions of perpetrators for the influx of corrupt practices in the country.
He concluded that the eradication of the aforementioned challenges would help tackle the corruption situation in Ghana.
Director of ISSER, Professor Felix Ankomah Asante addressing the audience
The launch of the 27th edition of the annual review of the state of the Ghanaian economy by the Institute of Statistical and Economic Research (ISSER) came off on Tuesday, October 2, 2018.
ISSER’s report has over the years played a huge role in providing empirically-based knowledge of the economy.