Welcome to TW’s Daily Briefing.
Today’s highlights: President Mahama appoints 10 to Office of the Vice President, Gov’t to maximise blue economy, Ghana records $8.98 billion in Gross International Reserve
President Mahama made 10 new appointments to the Office of the Vice President.
GNA – President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, January 28, made 10 new appointments to the Office of the Vice President.
A statement issued by Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Acting Spokesman to the President, and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the appointees were expected to bring their wealth of experience and expertise to their respective roles and contribute significantly to the “Resetting Ghana agenda to build the Ghana we want.”
They include Mr Alex Percival Segbefia, Chief of Staff to Vice President; Mrs Alberta Graham, Head of Administration; and Professor Theresah Ennin, Presidential Staffer and Special Aide to the Vice President.
Others are Madam Daniella Mavis Mathias, Secretary to the Vice President; Dr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, Policy Adviser, Political; and Professor Sharif Mahmud Khalid, Policy Adviser, Economic.
The rest are Dr Hamza Zakaria, Policy Adviser, Economic; Madam Mansa Amoa Awuah, Policy Adviser, Finance; Dr Miriam Rahinatu Iddrisuz, Policy Adviser, Social Sector; and Madam Maame Ama Pratt, Press Secretary.
Gov’t to maximise blue economy
GHANATODAY—The government intends to leverage Ghana’s marine and freshwater resources for sustainable economic development.
The government will also maximise the blue economy to ensure the sustainable management and conservation of the ocean’s living and natural resources while harnessing its potential.
The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Madam Emelia Arthur, said this during her first meeting with the management teams of the Ministry, the Fisheries Commission and the Premix Fuel Secretariat to share her vision and expectations.
She expressed her commitment to collaboration, innovation and teamwork and encouraged the staff to focus on delivering sustainable results.
“Together, we can strengthen Ghana’s fisheries and aquaculture sector, making it more sustainable and impactful. With collaboration, dedication and innovation, we will ensure food security and a prosperous future for all,” she said.
She was briefed on the sector’s performance, which reported a total annual fish production of 684,114.87 metric tons in 2023.
The Minister was updated on the sector’s challenges, including overfishing, illegal practices such as light fishing and explosives, insufficient finance and difficulty gathering data.
She indicated her commitment to addressing the challenges and supporting the sector to grow by empowering stakeholders and fostering cooperation.
Ghana records $8.98 billion in Gross International Reserves
GhanaianTimes—The country at end of 2024 recorded $8.98 billion in Gross International Reserves (GIR), covering four months of import cover.
This nearly double the figure recorded in 2023 which stood at $5.92 billion, covering 2.7 months of import cover.
The Governor and Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, speaking at the 122nd press conference of the MPC after its regular meeting noted that GIR reserves build-up was faster than programmed in 2024.
Ghanaian tourism packages
“GIR increased to a stock position of US$8.98 billion at the end of 2024 and was enough to cover 4.0 months of imports, exceeding targets under the IMF programme,” the Governor explained.
The 2024 GIR, he said, compared favourably with the end-December 2023 GIR of US$5.92 billion.
At the yesterday’s press conference, the MPC’s for the third consecutive time maintained its policy rate at 27 per cent, citing positive macroeconomic stability strong growth.
Dr Addison said economic activity was stronger with higher-than-projected growth in the first three quarters of 2024.
“The latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service showed that real Gross Domestic Product expanded at an annual rate of 6.3 per cent during the first three quarters of 2024, relative to 2.6 per cent during the corresponding period in 2023. Non-oil Gross Domestic Product grew by 6.2 per cent from 3.3 per cent over the same comparative period,” he stated.
He indicated that the strong growth outturn was mainly driven by gold production in the industry sector.
Dr Addison said the Bank’s Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) in the last quarter of last year suggested that growth would remain strong, driven in large parts by international trade activities, increased credit to the private sector by banks, construction activities, and tourist-related spending.
He further noted that the latest confidence surveys conducted in December 2024 showed an improvement in both consumer and business confidence.
“Consumer confidence improved largely on account of optimism about future economic conditions. Business confidence also picked up as firms met their short-term targets and expressed positive sentiments about company and industry prospects in line with improving macroeconomic conditions,” the Governor stated.
The Chairman of MPC also outlined that the country’s external sector conditions remained positive, with sustained and stronger-than-programmed rebuilding of reserve buffers, contributing to the stability of the domestic currency.
Additionally, he said the performance of the external sector was mainly driven by strong growth in gold exports, which also largely impacted positively on growth.
“In the outlook, the external sector is expected to remain strong as commodity prices remain favourable amid improvements in production,” the Chairman of MPC stated.
However, he said while the external sector conditions were expected to provide an anchor to exchange rate stability, key risks in the outlook including challenges in the energy sector would have to be closely monitored.
“The external sector position improved significantly in 2024 on account of increased trade surplus and lower capital outflows,” he said.
