Sub-Saharan Africa’s Recovery Maintains Momentum

Source: World Bank Report

In its World Economic Outlook Update, the IMF said most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have recovered quickly from the global financial crisis, with the region projected to grow 5½ percent in 2011.

Low income countries, which escaped the worst impacts of the global crisis, are expected to match pre-crisis growth rates of about 6½ percent in 2011. But the recovery in South Africa has been more subdued, restricting projected growth to about 3½ percent in 2011.

Who left The Bigger Mess?

NDC 1993 – 2000 | NPP 2001 – 2008.  Using GDP ratios prior to rebased Economy

By Sydney Casely-Hayford. www.bizghana.com

Last week, Friday 19^th, Deputy Minister Fifi Kwetey ends a discussion with Otchere Darko “Gabby” Asare on Multi TV’s Status Quo in an politically charged debate on the budget. On Newsfile the following Saturday, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, calmly points out the foibles of political mis-claims to a panel, which includes Deputy Minister Dr Oman Boamah. Then on Matters Arising with Fred Chidi, Monday 22^nd November, Deputy Minister Kobby Acheampong degenerates a civilized argument on the budget to a shouting match, which ends the program.

All these discussions turned on the point where the issue of inherited economic indicators, particularly the current account deficit became a subject of debate.

So here are the facts sourced from the Bank of Ghana, Ministry of Finance and IMF websites.

After Rebased GDP, Still Many Open Questions

By Sydney Casely-Hayford, www.bizghana.com

Ghana’s Gross Domestic product (GDP) was revised by the Government Statistician, Dr. Grace Bediako from Ghc24.1 billion to Ghc44.8 billion, Friday 5^th November.  Before the census figures are released in January 2011, this classifies Ghana a middle-income status country ahead of oil revenues.  The per capita GDP based on 24.3 million people translates to Ghc1,843 ($1,289).  There is a lot here for self-congratulation, but there are still missing links in the economy, which should have seen higher than the 60.3% change from the 1993 base to 2006.

The main ingredients for the revision are; a change in the base year from 1993 to 2006, improvements in the compilation methodology using 1993 accounting systems in place of the 1968 edition, improvements and revisions of data sources and finally a classification update to International Standard Industrial Classification 4 (ISIC4).  Long overdue.

A Snap shot of the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings: How to achieve a world without poverty!

By Franklin Cudjoe, Washington, D.C., www.imani.org

The World Bank and the IMF have not had many friends in the developing world since post-Structural Adjustments days, when their advice and interventions, largely backed by aid yielded slow and negative growth.  It is the case though, that dealing with the two Bretton Woods institutions is like loaded dice. In one breadth they provide you with advice, and then in another, they continue to support countries that fail, even when their failure did not originate from bad advice, but essentially rooted in disrespect for the most basic institutions needed to effect real change.

Take Ghana, for instance.  Not all the IMF and World Bank’s involvement in our mostly self-inflicted tottering economy in the 1980s come to doom and gloom? There were significant gains, which could have been used to diversify our agrarian based economy- yet we watched politicians splurge most of the gains on the 1992, 1996 and 2000 general elections. And just when our strangling debts were paid off, with a promise to ‘taking off’ into the middle income bracket, we watered down the gains again in 2008, with a world record deficit of almost 20% to GDP- mostly incurred as a result of light-speed spending, mainly outside of the budget and ostensibly to chase political votes.