{"id":259045,"date":"2024-12-02T03:49:11","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T03:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/"},"modified":"2024-12-02T03:49:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T03:49:11","slug":"what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the key issues for investors in Ghana&#8217;s election?"},"content":{"rendered":"<br><div id=\"article-text\">\n                       \n                        \n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ghanaians go to the polls on Dec. 7 to choose a new president and parliament in an election investors are watching closely to determine how the winner will steer an economy emerging from debt default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The leading contenders to replace 80-year-old President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is stepping down after two terms at the helm of the gold and cocoa-producing country, are former president John Dramani Mahama and current Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia. There are 11 other candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ghanaians go to the polls on Dec. 7 to choose a new president and parliament in an election investors are watching closely to determine how the winner will steer an economy emerging from debt default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The leading contenders to replace 80-year-old President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is stepping down after two terms at the helm of the gold and cocoa-producing country, are former president John Dramani Mahama and current Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia. There are 11 other candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mahama, 65, who is\u00a0leading\u00a0in a number of polls, has pledged to try and\u00a0renegotiate the terms of the IMF deal\u00a0to secure more financing. He has promised to amend the law to introduce a public debt ceiling of 60-70% of GDP to prevent over-borrowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But under his previous presidency in 2012-17, the government increased borrowing to invest in the construction of infrastructure projects like roads. He also faced criticism for electricity shortages and high inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bawumia has campaigned on modernising the economy with digitisation, low taxes and fiscal discipline to lift annual growth to an average of 6%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 61-year-old has also pledged to cap public spending at 105% of the previous year&#8217;s tax revenue, introduce a flat rate tax scheme and redirect 3% of GDP of public spending into private hands for the provision of public infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">CAN THE WINNER RENEGOTIATE THE IMF PROGRAMME?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is fairly common for leaders coming into office to reach out to the IMF and talk about existing programmes &#8211; as was just the case in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The IMF, lender of last resort to Ghana as it restructures its debt under the G20&#8217;s Common Framework initiative, says its primary focus is to support the government in restoring macroeconomic stability while enabling debt sustainability and inclusive growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It has so far\u00a0approved\u00a0Ghana&#8217;s economic performance under the current $3 billion loan programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Fund says there is a possibility of adjusting Ghana&#8217;s current programme, since IMF-supported reform programmes are developed jointly with governments and reviewed periodically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, any discussions need to take into account the need to preserve a country&#8217;s ability to achieve set economic objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WHAT ARE THE OTHER ECONOMIC ISSUES AT PLAY?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whoever wins the election will have to tackle a cost-of-living crisis, widespread unemployment, high costs of living and frequent electricity outages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mahama&#8217;s party, the National Democratic Congress, plans to increase government spending in social sectors like health and education if it wins, as well as the infrastructure, to support growth and create employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bawumia&#8217;s New Patriotic Party wants to prioritise economic stability by lowering inflation and attracting more private investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next government will face limited choices due to Ghana&#8217;s high debt burden, Oxford Economics said in a research note. Mahama&#8217;s promises on the campaign trail to boost the economic circumstances of individuals and households could also be tested by the need to balance his policies against IMF&#8217;s demands for fiscal restraint, the consultancy&#8217;s analysis showed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">COMMODITIES AT STAKE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new government will have to steer the processes of licensing new oil and gas projects, where\u00a0production, which began in 2010, flagged in the five years to 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mahama plans to offer locals more ownership in future oil and mining projects if he wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cocoa sector also requires urgent attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Output in the world&#8217;s number two cocoa-producing country fell to a 20-year low last season, mired by low pay to farmers, plant diseases, heightened bean smuggling and illegal gold mining destroying plantations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The global cocoa market will be watching with interest whether a new president will implement an IMF policy suggestion for far-reaching reforms in the sector, and whether\u00a0a new marketing model\u00a0that replaced the over three-decade-old cocoa loan syndication will be continued.<\/p>\n\n                <p><strong>DISCLAIMER: <\/strong>The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.<\/p>      \n               \n <!-- Post Tags -->\n                \n\n                        \n\n    \n                                 \n                                             \n                    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ghanaians go to the polls on Dec. 7 to choose a new president and parliament in an election investors are watching closely to determine how the winner will steer an economy emerging from debt default. The leading contenders to replace 80-year-old President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is stepping down after two terms at the helm of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":104746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-259045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What are the key issues for investors in Ghana&#039;s election? - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What are the key issues for investors in Ghana&#039;s election? - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ghanaians go to the polls on Dec. 7 to choose a new president and parliament in an election investors are watching closely to determine how the winner will steer an economy emerging from debt default. The leading contenders to replace 80-year-old President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is stepping down after two terms at the helm of [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-02T03:49:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5\"},\"headline\":\"What are the key issues for investors in Ghana&#8217;s election?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-02T03:49:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":731,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"articleSection\":[\"Top News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/\",\"name\":\"What are the key issues for investors in Ghana's election? - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-02T03:49:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/02\\\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What are the key issues for investors in Ghana&#8217;s election?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"Ghana mma provides breaking news, top stories in Ghana, Africa, business, entertainment, politics and more.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5\",\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ghana News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2024\\\/author\\\/ghanamma\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What are the key issues for investors in Ghana's election? - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What are the key issues for investors in Ghana's election? - Ghanamma.com","og_description":"Ghanaians go to the polls on Dec. 7 to choose a new president and parliament in an election investors are watching closely to determine how the winner will steer an economy emerging from debt default. The leading contenders to replace 80-year-old President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is stepping down after two terms at the helm of [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/","og_site_name":"Ghanamma.com","article_published_time":"2024-12-02T03:49:11+00:00","author":"Ghana News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ghana News","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/"},"author":{"name":"Ghana News","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#\/schema\/person\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5"},"headline":"What are the key issues for investors in Ghana&#8217;s election?","datePublished":"2024-12-02T03:49:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/"},"wordCount":731,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","articleSection":["Top News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/","name":"What are the key issues for investors in Ghana's election? - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2024-12-02T03:49:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#\/schema\/person\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/12\/02\/what-are-the-key-issues-for-investors-in-ghanas-election\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What are the key issues for investors in Ghana&#8217;s election?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"Ghana mma provides breaking news, top stories in Ghana, Africa, business, entertainment, politics and more.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/#\/schema\/person\/c70749f3edfbfcd92d45e933f0fe10b5","name":"Ghana News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ghana News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024"],"url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/author\/ghanamma\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259045\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}